The Silent Scream

1984 28 minutes Directed by Jack Duane Dabner

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About The Silent Scream

Bernard Nathanson, an obstetrician who had performed abortions and later opposed them, describes a first-trimester suction abortion. Ultrasound then shows an abortion at 11 weeks while he narrates. He says the images show the fetus in distress. Jack Duane Dabner directed. Donald S. Smith wrote it. Crusade for Life produced it. American Portrait Films distributed it.

Cast & crew

More about The Silent Scream

Dabner also produced. Smith was executive producer. Roger Boller photographed it. Dan R. Fouts edited. Jim Stipech wrote the music. Wikipedia times it at 28 minutes and dates it 1984. It premiered on Jerry Falwell’s television program and was later shown at the White House by Ronald Reagan. Time magazine, quoted on the Wikipedia page, said right-to-life organizations embraced it as a propaganda weapon. Members of the medical community have called the film misleading.

Themes

  • A suction abortion described step by step
  • Ultrasound of an 11-week procedure
  • A narrator who says the fetus is in distress
  • Bernard Nathanson
  • ultrasound
  • abortion
  • 11 weeks
  • Crusade for Life

Background

It was made in 1984 for the campaign against abortion and was sent to schools and colleges after the Falwell broadcasts.

Making

The picture is Nathanson at a desk and the ultrasound of one procedure. The argument is his narration of those frames.

Reviews

Time, as cited by Wikipedia, called it an effective propaganda weapon for right-to-life organizations. The same article records that medical critics called the ultrasound reading misleading.

Look

Roger Boller shot Nathanson and the ultrasound images he narrates.

Music

Jim Stipech wrote the music under the narration.

Preservation

The video circulates. Copies are on the Internet Archive and Wikimedia Commons.

Notes

  • Nathanson is the only on-screen speaker named in the credits used here.
  • The National Right to Life Committee is not the production company on the Wikipedia credits. Crusade for Life is.
  • An Internet Archive identifier is SilentScreamAbortionOfPregnancy.
  • A Commons file is an Ogg, The Silent Scream (1984).ogg.

Scenes

  • Nathanson explains the suction method before the pictures.
  • The ultrasound of the 11-week abortion runs under his narration.

Also available

  • Internet Archive (SilentScreamAbortionOfPregnancy)
  • Wikimedia Commons (The Silent Scream (1984).ogg)