Glimpses of abortion’s divides

When is a person a person? Who determines a child’s quality of life? What happens in an abortion procedure?

Former NFL athlete and current father of seven Benjamin Watson started asking these questions of prominent thinkers last year. Filming for his documentary Divided Hearts of America began in 2019. Even with race issues and social justice taking center stage in 2020, Watson says abortion is the “core issue” at the center of all others.

His 80-minute documentary, streaming on SalemNOW, addresses the history and current state of the American abortion debate. Watson interviewed more than 30 thinkers on both sides of the issue to find a solution.

Watson delivers in production value. But the script attempts too much. The many voices and topics crowd the film. The film’s tagline is “Discovering the secret that will unite us”—a secret that, when revealed in the film, is too vague to do any good.

But the documentary has strengths: A former abortionist recounts the pregnancy that changed her mind. An abortion survivor talks about the saline solution she soaked in for five days in her mother’s womb. A woman shares the heartbreak of her own abortion: Her abortionist grabbed the baby’s remains and announced, “Just so you know, it was a girl.” In these moments, the documentary moves beyond punditry to glimpse the wounded hearts abortion leaves behind.