From the beginning, the project to bring the untold story of Roe v. Wade to the big screen has faced challenges. In January, Pro-Life producers for the project said Facebook tried to block their fundraising efforts. Despite this setback, the team succeeded in casting and filming the production. Producer and co-director Nick Loeb told Texas Right to Life in an interview that the final weeks of filming included shooting in Washington, D.C., at the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. The final scenes, to be filmed this week, will be shot in New York City.
Although Hollywood does not shy away from the subject of abortion, and in fact has many films promoting abortion in the works, a film telling the backstory of the nation’s landmark abortion case has caused outrage in the film industry. Conspiracy theories abound about the film’s motives, casting and production. Loeb insists the film is meant to reveal the history of the case, showing both Pro-Life and anti-Life sides and letting the viewers decide what to think.
Few Americans know the true story behind Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states. Many facts about the history of the case and the people involved surprise people when they learn them. For one, the woman known as Jane Roe in the case, whose real name was Norma McCorvey, never underwent an abortion. Also, after the case, Ms. McCorvey became an outspoken Pro-Life advocate who spent the rest of her life working to end legalized abortion, which she recognized as the killing of innocent human beings.
Facts like these compelled Loeb and his team, including Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to work toward bringing the story to the screen in a full-scale feature film. There are many documentaries about Roe v. Wade. However, no one has brought a dramatized version of the history to the screen. Loeb told Vanity Fair that he and fellow-producer and co-director Cathy Allyn relied on primary sources, such as court transcripts, interviews, letters, and speeches to write the script.
Despite the attempt of Hollywood elites to sabotage the production, the Roe v. Wade movie boasts several high-profile actors including Jon Voight and Robert Davi as Supreme Court Justices. Some big names dropped from the production, a fact that resulted in allegations that the film was “too Pro-Life” and drove away cast and crew. Loeb says all cast members were able to read the script before filming began and the producers were up-front about the aims of the fact-based film.
Loeb told the New York Daily News about the cast and crew who have left production, “I can’t speak for them. Maybe they got pressure from friends and family after they said yes. I don’t know, I’m not them and I didn’t speak to them.” Some of the stories about cast members leaving because of Pro-Life bias have proven to be fabricated. Kevin Sorbo explained to the Daily News, “I thought the script was great. I was going to play one of the justices, along with Jon Voight. But I have a movie that I’ve been prepping the last three weeks up in Canada and I start filming here in about a week.” He added, “I just had no time when they wanted me. That was the only reason why I was not in there. They [anti-Life media] decided to make up their own story of why I’m not involved.”
Likewise, Jon Voight vouched for the film and told the Daily News, “It [the film]shows all sides. People have this simplistic idea about the history. They don’t know the time. People don’t know what was really going on. I think it will be educational.”
The film is in the final days of shooting, and Loeb told Texas Right to Life that his team is fundraising to hire a second editing crew. The hope is to release the movie ahead of the original 2019 date in order to have screenings in the fall during the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Following President Trump’s nomination of Kavanaugh, there has been much discussion of Roe v. Wade but few people realize the true story behind the case.
To learn more about the Roe v. Wade movie, visit the GoFundMe page.
