A Distant Thunder

I recently watched the movie A Distant Thunder.

Warning spoilers below

The 35-minute film follows pro-choice prosecutor Ann Brown in and out of the courtroom. The viewer quickly learns that Ann recently won a case that charged a famous football player with a double homicide for killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

She gets assigned a new case, the Lavin case, by her boss, Harold Shenson. The Lavin case involves Dr. Lavin and an intended partial-birth abortion. During the entire movie, Ann is hounded by nightmares and visions/delusions which usually feature sonograms or deal with pregnancy. We also are introduced to her mother who often appears in the visions, is continuously watching home videos of Ann's childhood and is unresponsive when Ann comes to visit.

During the Lavin case, Ann questions a nurse who assisted Dr. Lavin in a D & X or partial-birth abortion. The nurse describes partial-birth abortion and how it occurred except during this procedure something unintended happened. After Dr. Lavin had delivered the legs, torso and arms of the baby girl, the baby girl gently grabbed Dr. Lavin's thumb. Instead of removing the child's grip, he reaches to grab the scissors and as he reaches he accidentally pulls the child's head (who is still holding onto his thumb) completely out of the womb. The nurse then explains that Dr. Lavin puts the child's head back and then completes the abortion/alleged murder.

The defense attorney, Tom Condan (you'll recognize him if you watch the Fox series 24), then calls a surprise witness to the stand....Ann's mother. Ann is shocked and wants to know what's going on. It ends up that Ann's mother is the woman who had the intended partial-birth abortion. Ann's mother changes in appearance from a middle aged woman into a younger woman and begins pleading with Ann. The viewer and Ann eventually realize that Ann was the aborted child. I know I've seen too many "the main characters are really dead but they don't know it" movies (Sixth Sense and the Others) because I guessed Ann was aborted after her encounter with her unresponsive mother.

Ann is then taken into the operating room of her mother's abortion. This scene also appeared at the very beginning of the movie but the viewer doesn't know if the woman is undergoing an abortion procedure or giving birth. Ann eventually leaves the scene hand in hand with her boss who the viewer realizes is supposed to be God.

I think this video could be a great tool for classrooms. It's much higher quality than most prolife videos I've seen and could lead to a number of interesting discussions after the video because there are a number of things that are left unanswered. Is everything Ann sees not part of the "real world?" Is this like the Sixth Sense where Ann, the dead person, only sees the things she wants to see? Are the other characters really angels?

On a side note, congratulations to the formerly unborn actor Benjamin Flora for his role as the sonogram baby.