Top Ten Movies that Deal Honestly with Abortion, Unintended Pregnancy, Sex Ed, and Related Issues

While watching Match Point on DVD the other night, I was dismayed to encounter one of my least favorite movie cop-outs of all time: a conversation about abortion where the characters refuse to say the word abortion. Lame, lame, lame. So, in an effort to be proactive, I have compiled the following list of movies that either deal intelligently or realistically with the topic of abortion, or have otherwise earned reproductive health kudos:

1. Our Song
2. Citizen Ruth
3. Vera Drake
4. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
5. The Cider House Rules
6. Dirty Dancing
7. The Crime of Padre Amaro
8. Just Another Girl on the IRT
9. Saved
10. The Education of Shelby Knox
11. BONUS: From Danger to Dignity: The Fight for Safe Abortion, is a fabulous documentary that highlights the networks of clergymen, feminists, and health care providers who ensured women's access to safe abortion before Roe v. Wade. Speaking personally, it disabused me of many an assumption about how American women won the right to safe and legal abortion.

Happy renting!