In Haiti, where abortion is illegal, criminalized, and taboo, people risk their lives undergoing cheap, do-it-yourself abortion methods––using herbs, over-the-counter medications, alcoholic beverages, and sharp projectiles to terminate pregnancy. The film centers around the story of an anonymous woman, known as Nadia, who nearly died from this kind of risky folk method, administered by her streetwise cousin Peter ten years ago. It is estimated that unsafe abortions like this account for a third of Haiti’s maternal mortality rate, though the criminality of these practices makes it difficult to have accurate data. (For example, other than us, Nadia has not told anyone outside of her family about her abortion, because she fears public castigation and prosecution.)
“Pillars” explores uncomfortable, conflicting truths at the heart of womanhood in a hyper-religious country that calls its women poto mitan––the pillars that hold society together. Though Nadia’s abortion likely enabled her to avoid financial hardship and violent harassment from her family, she still feels regret. We witness Nadia as she reflects on her decision to end her pregnancy, the grief she still carries, her bolstered Christian faith, and the life she has made for herself since surviving the risky procedure. The film will combine lyrical documentary footage shot in and around Port-au-Prince with collage-infused animation made in collaboration with Haitian artists to evoke the feel of the country.
This is an ongoing project that has been in production since fall of 2019. In the years since we began filming, the crisis we are seeking to inform people about has only gotten worse. The “Global Gag Rule,” which was enacted under the Trump Administration and remains in effect today, has exacerbated demand for unsafe abortions in Haiti by cutting off U.S. funding to organizations that provide health services and abortion aftercare. In a time when abortion access is increasingly difficult and costly in the United States, the situation in Haiti offers a glimpse into a future that can be created by the colliding forces of extreme poverty, disenfranchisement, and a lack of access to healthcare.
Our team intends to return to Haiti for one final shoot to add contextual imagery, report on the state of abortion access, and film additional follow-up with Nadia. We plan to continue creating animation– still a work in progress–noted in our sample excerpt. For distribution, we plan to partner with local Haitian organization FOKAL to reach Haitian audiences and spur conversation. We see opportunity in encouraging discussion among the local Haitian community and the global Haitian diaspora. We also aim to screen as widely as possible in the United States in the effort to highlight the universal links between poverty, political disenfranchisement, and the right to choose. We believe that this perspective could be incredibly valuable during a time when abortion access is under threat in the United States. Death from unsafe abortion is not an issue that is isolated to Haiti. Haiti’s maternal mortality crisis is a symptom of pernicious and ubiquitous systems of oppression that threaten wellbeing worldwide.
