About the Power of Choice Project
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The Power of Choice Project is a group of concerned citizens who share the goal of educating the public and activating supporters of reproductive freedom through film. Our documentaries each hold a Creative Commons license under which they can be shown, broadcast, and copied without charge.
The compilation, Motherhood by Choice, Not Chance distills the history and power of the 2 1/2 hour trilogy, From the Back alleys to the Supreme Court & Beyond, into a moving, 27-minute film. |
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We invite you to use the film to:
Read on to find out how we began and what we have accomplished since our inception... 1991: Dorothy Fadiman embarked on a project to document the era when abortion was illegal, the struggle for reproductive rights, and the current threats to those rights. The result was an award-winning trilogy, From the Supreme Court to the Back-Alleys & Beyond. September 2003: We formed The Power of Choice Project to meet a new goal: to weave together scenes from the trilogy to create a shorter piece that would serve to educate, inspire, and activate. We named the film Motherhood by Choice, Not Chance and gave it a Creative Commons license, so that anyone can use the film without needing further permission. April 2004: We launched the project at the March for Women’s Lives in Washington DC and delivered 10,000 DVDs to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, who then distributed them across the country. May 2004: We held our first community-wide screening/fundraiser where we sold hundreds of DVDs, raised several thousand dollars in donations, and experienced the tremendous excitement that this vision inspired. June 2004 - The California Road Trip: We set out on a two-week journey in an RV, screening the film in a variety of venues including churches, campuses and clinics. We held seventeen screenings with audiences ranging from a half dozen in a living room to more than 100 in a union hall. October 2004: We released the Spanish language edition of the DVD introduced by Dolores Huerta (co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association) while also launching a multi-state community media broadcast effort. Stations in 15 states that reach more than four million households broadcast Motherhood by Choice. Cities included Tucson and Phoenix, AZ; Denver, CO; Orlando and Tampa Bay, FL; Iowa City, IA; Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, MI; Duluth, MN; St. Louis, MO; Chapel Hill, NC; Manchester, Bedford and Concord, NH; Los Alamos and Albuquerque, NM; Akron, Dayton and Cincinnati, OH; Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Reading, PA; Arlington, VA and Seattle, WA; plus cities in WI, CT, and MD. September to November 2004 - The National Road Trip: Dorothy traveled to fourteen states to hold nearly fifty screenings. Screening events ranged from packed campus auditoriums to intimate house parties, and sometimes there were two or three screenings in one day. We worked with Planned Parenthood, NARAL, NOW, League of Women Voters, AAUW, the Feminist Majority, the YWCA and others along the way. December to May 2005: Thirty California stations, including community and college campus stations, have broadcast or plan to air Motherhood by Choice, Not Chance. We have also secured broadcast times with stations in Virginia, Oregon, Florida and New Jersey. July 2005: We launched our new web site with a new vision for the future of The Power of Choice Project. We made our films available to you for online viewing, downloading and purchasing, in the hope that you’ll take full advantage of what we have to offer: the films in English and Spanish, helpful tips on how to screen the film, and the resource kit with materials to support a broadcast or screening of the film. Today: If you decide to watch the film, throw a house party, or use any of the support materials, we’d love to hear how it went! Email us to share your stories. |
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