Documentary: The last days of an abortion clinic in Mississippi

Brut America

It was the last abortion clinic in Mississippi.   After Roe v. Wade was overturned, Brut filmmaker Jessey Dearing documented the last days of the “Pink House” …

Transcript

00:00Thou shalt not kill!

00:02You're an asshole!

00:03Thou shalt not kill!

00:04Get out of the way!

00:05Your penis is not your body.

00:06It is!

00:07It's in my body.

00:08It would affect my entire life.

00:09You don't get to tell me it won't.

00:11You don't.

00:12That's exactly what people are starting to say,

00:14that there will be no more abortions in the state of Mississippi.

00:17That is a load of bulls**t.

00:19Bulls**t.

00:21You hate knowledge.

00:22You hate knowledge.

00:23And you're an asshole.

00:24People are going to attempt to self-abort.

00:26People are going to die.

00:27You show no mercy by killing your child out of convenience?

00:32If it's murder, call the cops.

00:33You're a mother already.

00:35The Bible says thou shalt not kill.

00:37It also says thou shalt not judge.

00:39All unclean, all be washed in the blood of the brave.

00:43Oh, go in the pink house!

00:45There will be options in Mississippi to get abortions.

00:50They just won't be good ones.

00:52The Jackson Women's Health Organization

00:54was at the center of the Dobbs v. Jackson case

00:56that the Supreme Court used to overturn Roe v. Wade.

00:59For years now,

01:00it has been the only abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi.

01:03By the time you see this film, it will be shut down.

01:06For Brute, I'm meeting up with Wren Allen,

01:08a volunteer clinic defender

01:10who helps patients get through the crowd of anti-abortionists

01:13so that they can access the clinic in its final days.

01:25We're driving up to the clinic.

01:27It's, uh, 4.45 a.m.

01:30We have some serious fears

01:32that the antis are going to block off the driveway this morning

01:36to prevent our patients' access to health care.

01:41There have never been cops at...

01:43What the... Okay.

01:45S**t.

01:48When I tell you I've never seen a cop,

01:52when I tell you I've never seen a cop out here,

01:56I think this is what they mean

01:58when they say this s**t is going to embolden them.

02:02We have hours before patients even start showing up.

02:05That's how you know this s**t has nothing to do

02:09with actual access to health care.

02:14I volunteer to walk people from their cars to the door

02:18so that they can have access to the health care that they need.

02:25Wren was the last volunteer onboarded at the Pink House

02:28because once the Supreme Court draft decision was leaked in May,

02:31they knew that the clinic would have to shut down.

02:33Even though she couldn't do it for long,

02:35she said that she wanted to help.

02:43Would you love your little baby?

02:45Love your baby in the womb like you love that baby

02:47in your lap.

02:49One second. All right.

02:51We'll let you pick her up, all right?

02:52If you could back up for me for one second.

02:54Thank you. Thank you.

02:55You can roll up your window now, sweetie.

02:57Yep.

02:58Keeping the antis off the property,

03:00they love to find that line and push it.

03:04So they'll stand in the driveway.

03:06They will block cars trying to get in.

03:08They will climb up the ladders with their signs

03:10and their bullhorns and their hatred,

03:13and they will yell and film over the fence.

03:17They will film patients. They will yell at patients.

03:20And it is not new.

03:22They've been doing it for years,

03:24and it is definitely illegal, and nobody cares.

03:27God calls you to repent today!

03:30We stand there, and we take the abuse,

03:33and we distract them, and we dance,

03:36and we laugh, and we yell.

03:38And while all of that is happening,

03:40patients are getting access to health care right behind us.

03:57I was raised conservative.

03:59I was raised Republican.

04:04I was raised watching Bill O'Reilly

04:06on the news in the morning, eating cereal,

04:08getting ready for school.

04:14Once I started becoming friends with people

04:16that didn't look like me and didn't think like me

04:19and came from backgrounds that were different than mine,

04:22my opinion started changing drastically.

04:32There comes a point where you can make your own decisions

04:35and do your own research.

04:39Sometimes they stop them at the corner,

04:42and yesterday I started telling people the clinic was closed,

04:46and we had two cars, maybe, that left

04:50and didn't end up getting up the street, so...

04:56Oh, my God.

04:58I can't...

05:00This is insanity.

05:02We're arguing over a parking spot.

05:09That's what they do.

05:10I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you,

05:11I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you.

05:13It's like you're doing everything but.

05:15And then you are the one that gets in trouble

05:17for reacting to a s*** situation,

05:20and they never get in trouble for it.

05:23They never do.

05:25And you can't react.

05:27Because you get a reaction, and you're an irrational woman.

05:30You get a reaction, and you're not valid anymore.

05:34Abortion is illegal.

05:36Abortion is illegal in Mississippi.

05:39No, abortion is not illegal in the state of Mississippi yet.

05:41We have ten days for this clinic to be open.

05:43They can get abortions for ten days.

05:45They are lying.

05:46They are lying to patients and telling them to turn away.

05:49After Roe v. Wade was overturned,

05:51the Mississippi Attorney General had to certify the trigger law

05:54banning abortions in Mississippi.

05:56This gave the Pink House ten more days to operate.

05:59I'm a dangerous man with some money in my pocket

06:02I'm a dangerous man with some money in my pocket

06:09Hey, hey, this is illegal.

06:11This is illegal in Mississippi now.

06:13Roe was overturned yesterday.

06:15This is illegal.

06:16This is illegal.

06:17You're a lawbreaker.

06:21I'm not in the middle of the street.

06:23This is a park, and I'm not in the middle of the street.

06:26Sir, you don't have a blessing to give.

06:28You don't have a blessing to give.

06:30You don't have a blessing to give dressed like that.

06:32I know him more than you will ever know him.

06:35Yes, but he doesn't.

06:40You can't even leave me alone.

06:44God is love and nothing else.

06:46Why would you laugh at a baby being murdered?

06:48Oh, you stick your tongue out at a baby being murdered.

06:50That's even better.

06:54I told myself I wasn't going to talk to them.

07:01Something that really struck me as odd

07:03when I first started volunteering up here

07:05was the stage play production of everything

07:07and how defenders choose to engage.

07:09Some people, they'll try to debate with the antis.

07:12They'll try to convince them.

07:14Others will yell at them in response

07:17when they're yelling at us.

07:19Me, personally, I just smile, laugh, dance, mock them.

07:26They're sitting over here, and they're talking so calmly

07:29about taking away someone's health care rights, you know?

07:33And it blows my mind that they expect you

07:36to be able to have, quote-unquote, rational debates,

07:39you know, about someone's right to an abortion.

07:42It's incredibly difficult to keep your cool,

07:44at least for me, because I care so much.

07:46We appreciate you. Thank you so much.

07:48Yeah, of course.

07:49Thank you so much.

07:50All the love, girl. All the love.

07:53Don't talk to her, dude.

07:55She clearly doesn't want to talk to you.

08:00I'm here. I'm here.

08:02No, I'm here. I got this.

08:03You're blocking Dorinda. That's rude.

08:05Young lady, that little baby's a gift from God.

08:07What do you think the Lord's heart is

08:09towards bringing it here and killing it?

08:11God, who says, Thou shalt not kill.

08:13Y'all need to turn some music up.

08:15I've been out here over nine years.

08:17I've been out here since I was a little girl.

08:19I've been out here since I was a little girl.

08:21I've been out here since I was a little girl.

08:23I've been out here since I was a little girl.

08:25I've been out here since I was a little girl.

08:27I've been out here over nine years.

08:29Most clinic escort groups

08:31do not engage with the protesters.

08:34That's a steadfast rule.

08:36You don't talk to them, even if they trespass.

08:39You don't say a word to them.

08:41And that's one of the things our owner told us

08:43when she said we could engage.

08:45Those are our damn sidewalks, and we're taking them back.

08:48You're not supposed to touch private property.

08:50Did your mama never teach you that?

08:52She taught me not to murder babies.

08:53How about you, big boy?

08:54Did you murder innocent children?

08:56How about you, big boy?

08:58She didn't teach you to not be rude?

09:00She didn't teach you much.

09:01That's rude.

09:02Engagement can be as little as

09:04blasting music back when they're doing this.

09:07It can be noisemakers.

09:10It can be one-on-one interaction.

09:13And we do whatever.

09:16But while we're doing that,

09:17we also keep the patients in mind.

09:19They come first.

09:21This is a place of mercy.

09:23This is a place of mercy.

09:24We love our neighbor.

09:25You're a neighbor as well as that precious baby.

09:28Would you love that little baby today?

09:30Don't murder your own child today.

09:35Turn to the living God.

09:39It's just very intimidating and frightening to patients,

09:44especially younger patients who drive here alone.

09:48And all the hurdles they've already jumped through

09:50just to be able to get abortion care.

09:53Then they have to drive past all of this.

09:55These people on the sidewalk,

09:57they are well-organized,

09:59extremely well-funded,

10:04and they're winning.

10:05James, I told you to get breakfast for the trolls.

10:09We got a few more days.

10:11I know.

10:12We got, what, eight days?

10:14Yeah, we can go through the sixth.

10:19You know, one good way to stop abortion

10:21is to get the **** off yourself.

10:24A vasectomy would be nice.

10:26I'm sure his wife would appreciate it.

10:28I don't think it's looking good,

10:30but we'll do what we can.

10:32Thank you so much.

10:34We appreciate it.

10:35Thank you so much.

10:37Thank y'all for doing this.

10:38You're welcome.

10:39Have a good day.

10:41What was that?

10:42Donation.

10:46Money.

10:48More blood, money.

10:50For years now, abortion has neither been

10:53super accessible nor a legitimate option

10:56for a lot of working-class people.

10:59And now that is just going to be exacerbated.

11:04It's too real if I think about how it affects me personally.

11:16Because then I have to think about,

11:19you know, everything I was ever taught

11:21about righteousness and freedom and democracy

11:27doesn't apply to me.

11:29There are just people walking around outside

11:32that don't think that you're a full human being

11:35that deserves full bodily autonomy.

11:41And then you just have to go to the grocery store

11:44and smile and wave at them.

11:47Or make them a drink at the bar.

11:51Or laugh at their stupid little jokes at family dinners.

11:56And all the while, they just are sitting there

11:59thinking, oh yeah,

12:03she shouldn't get to decide what happens to her body.

12:10And I don't know what to do with that.

12:16I grew up here.

12:18This one was a dud.

12:19Ooh, this is so clever!

12:21We got black teeth instead of white teeth.

12:23Whoops.

12:24I don't have any white.

12:26I really want this one.

12:27You want that one?

12:28Yeah.

12:29I think we should just take all of them.

12:30Yay!

12:31Okay, awesome.

12:32Awesome.

12:33This is so exciting.

12:34This is so exciting.

12:35Ready to rock and roll?

12:36Mm-hmm.

12:38I've been listening to this song on repeat.

12:56We have to be fighting for the future that we want.

13:06Hallelujah!

13:07Check, check!

13:08Can y'all hear me?

13:09I am a theater teacher!

13:11I am a lover!

13:13I am a woman!

13:15So I know how to talk loud!

13:18The people united will never be defeated!

13:23What do we do?

13:24Stand up, fight back!

13:26I hope this doesn't make people lose hope.

13:28I hope this radicalizes people.

13:30Because I'm not hopeless right now.

13:33And I'm certainly not helpless.

13:38I'm going to keep fighting.

13:40We all are.

13:51There was a world before this,

13:54and there will be a world after it.

13:56I'm damn sure going to fight for it.

14:00This sexist shit is getting old!

14:02Stand up, fight back!

14:07We're going down!

14:37We're going down!

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