| The Silent Scream | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original 1984 VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Jack Duane Dabner |
| Written by | Donald S. Smith |
| Produced by | Jack Duane Dabner, executive producer: Donald S. Smith |
| Narrated by | Bernard N. Nathanson |
| Cinematography | Roger Boller |
| Edited by | Dan R. Fouts |
| Music by | Jim Stipech |
| Distributed by | American Portrait Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 28 mins. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Silent Scream is a 1984 anti-abortion film created and narrated by Bernard Nathanson, a former abortion provider who had become an anti-abortion activist. It was produced by Crusade for Life, Inc., an evangelical anti-abortion organization, and has been described as a pro-life propaganda film.[1][2] The film depicts the abortion process via ultrasound and shows an abortion taking place in the uterus. During the abortion process, the fetus is described as appearing to make outcries of pain and discomfort. The video has been a popular tool used by the anti-abortion campaign in arguing against abortion,[3] but it has been criticized as misleading by members of the medical community.[4]
- ^ Zhang, Mark (May 2, 2013). "The Silent Scream (1984), by Bernard Nathanson, Crusade for Life, and American Portrait Films". Embryo Project Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
- ^ Sources calling it propaganda:
- Petchesky, Rosalind Pollack (Summer 1987). "Fetal Images: The Power of Visual Culture in the Politics of Reproduction". Feminist Studies. 13 (2): 263–292. doi:10.2307/3177802. hdl:2027/spo.0499697.0013.203. JSTOR 3177802.
...bombarded with the newest 'prolife' propaganda piece, The Silent Scream.
- Wallis, Claudia (March 25, 1985). "Medicine: Silent Scream – Outcry over antiabortion film". Time. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
The film has been embraced as an effective propaganda weapon by right-to-life organizations.
- Dux, Monica (March 13, 2019). "An anti-abortion video shown in Catholic schools traumatised me—and I didn't even see it". ABC News Australia. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- McCombs, Phil (March 24, 1985). "The 'Scream' of Bernard Nathanson". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- Cuniberti, Betty; Mehren, Elizabeth (August 8, 1985). "'Silent Scream': Abortion Film Stirs Friend, Foe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
Accurate or not, the 28-minute film—translated into six languages and seen by millions on television news reports and religious shows and in private screenings before school and church groups—has intensified the longstanding fight over abortion and turned it into a high-tech propaganda war.
- Honderich, Holly (June 24, 2023). "She helped kill Roe v Wade – now she wants to end abortion in America". BBC News. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
Someone at the clinic gave her a VHS tape of the Silent Scream, a controversial 1984 anti-abortion propaganda film...
- Petchesky, Rosalind Pollack (Summer 1987). "Fetal Images: The Power of Visual Culture in the Politics of Reproduction". Feminist Studies. 13 (2): 263–292. doi:10.2307/3177802. hdl:2027/spo.0499697.0013.203. JSTOR 3177802.
- ^ Roiphe, Katie (February 26, 2005). "Choice words". The Guardian. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
- ^ Wallis, Claudia; Banta, Kenneth W. (March 25, 1985). "Medicine: Silent Scream". Time. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011.