Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek and Anne Heche play three very different women from different eras (the 1950's, 1970's and 1990's respectively) who are each confronted with the same dilemma. They're pregnant, and struggling with whether or not to end the pregnancy, with each story being set against the value system of the day. The stories are unrelated in any other way, but together they represent an interesting evolution of thoughts around the abortion issue.
Moore's performance is probably the one that brings forth the greatest feelings of sympathy from the viewer. She's a nurse and a young widow, alone and lonely except for the connection to her deceased husband's family, who has to find a way to deal with a pregnancy that was unplanned and the result of a one-time "fling" with her brother in law. Abortion is illegal, she has to avoid shaming her "family," and she can't just disappear for nine months to give birth because she has a job and little money. In the end she finds a shady abortion provider who does the deed on her kitchen table, and leaves her in a desperate condition - her fate remaining a mystery. This was the most powerful of the stories. Heche's character has an affair with an older, married man who wants nothing to do with the responsibility. She chooses abortion after a lot of soul-searching, but while it's legal in the 90's she's confronted by pro-life protesters at the door of the clinic who do cause her to think twice about the decision, although she ultimately goes ahead with it. With a best friend who's pro-life but supportive of her she goes falls into a scene of horror that seemed to me too expected and contrived. The soul-searching the character goes through, though, makes this a worthwhile vignette. The weakest of the three stories was probably that featuring Spacek. She's a mother of three in a happy marriage and re-starting her own education when she becomes pregnant again. This story revolves mostly around tensions within the family as all consider the potential impact of the pregnancy on their hopes and dreams. In the end, this pregnancy continues.
It was interesting to see the perspective on the issue from three very different generations.
