Educational Media Reviews Online

Every few years, a new documentary appears chronicling the fight for abortion rights in the United States – several excellent offerings since 2005 include The Last Abortion Clinic (2005), Choice: Then and Now (2010), After Tiller (2014), and Trapped (2016). The frequency of films on this topic is likely due, at least in part, to the regularly shifting political, legislative, and judicial landscapes. Filmmaker Maisie Crow adds another stellar documentary to the list with Jackson, which examines the last remaining clinic in Mississippi providing abortion services.

Jackson has three main subjects: Shannon Brewer, director of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization; Barbara Beavers, an anti-abortion leader in the state who heads the Center for Pregnancy Choices (CPC); and April Jackson, a young mother of four who, facing another unplanned pregnancy, seeks help at the CPC. The women’s stories are presented within the context of Operation Save America meetings, ongoing clinic protests, and attempts by the Mississippi legislature to make Mississippi an “abortion-free” state. What makes the film such compelling viewing is not only the extensive access the filmmaker had to her subjects but also the humanity with which Crow treats all parties – individuals’ stories are told with dignity, and ethical discussions are portrayed in all their messy complexity.

Jackson is by no means an easy film to watch, but that is precisely what makes it an excellent choice to spark discussion. An appropriate selection by academic libraries to support courses in human sexuality/sex education, health sciences, gender studies, family studies, philosophy/ethics, psychology, and sociology, Jackson is also highly recommended for public library collections.

Adult themes.