Someone You Know follows three women whose stories about having a later abortion reveal the hostility, complications, and choices they had to face. Produced and directed by Asha Dahya, she presents the facts and situations for women seeking later abortions, which the current U.S. abortion laws have created or made worse since the overturn of Roe v Wade in a pleasant but direct short documentary through appealing animation, clear interviews, and direct information.
With statistics that 1 in 4 women will have an abortion before the age of 45, which also includes trans men and nonbinary people, whose experiences are rarely included in statistics, Dahya reveals that currently, there are no abortion services in at least 90% of U.S. counties. In addition, she examines the situation of only a few states offering abortion services after the first trimester. This scenario has caused barriers for women, compromising reproductive freedom for many. She also makes it very clear how later abortion patients often become the target of political misinformation and attacks and bear the bulk of harassment, with an interesting point on how the anti-abortion movement was able to raise awareness and gain momentum due to those who had abortions staying silent, so telling stories is a path to change or at the very least awareness.
“…1 in 4 women will have an abortion before the age of 45, which also includes trans men and nonbinary people…”
As a film dedicated to those who tell their abortion stories and for more to be said, the three women in Someone You Know, Mindy Swank, Valerie Peterson, and Sharon Lagos, who have had abortions later in their pregnancies, are the faces of this exceedingly alarming scenario of the inability to have an abortion or the choice for all those who can become pregnant. In their situations where Plan B did not work because it was fake, carrying a stillborn or a developing fetus that would not live, Someone You Know presents authentic, heartbreaking situations,. However, through lovely and easy-to-watch animation and storytelling, Someone You Know breaks the stigma of abortion and abortion rights, offering hope and comfort. In addition, it’s also a film for information and assistance to lessen fear or worry. With very little finger-pointing but using real women and their personal experiences along with engaging interviews, Dahya offers a sense of relief to this real-life situation that will always exist no matter what.
"…breaks the stigma of abortion and abortion rights, offering hope and comfort."
