In early 2005, independent film producer Raney Aronson started a new commission for the public television news documentary program, Frontline . She wanted to examine the strategies and tactics of each side in the abortion debate, with a close look at state-level legislation. Early in the process, Aronson elected to tell the story on two levels: trace the complex history of abortion law since the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision; and also portray how court decisions play out in the lives of individual women. That would allow her to leaven the complex legal history with personal stories for a more compelling piece of cinema.

Aronson ultimately decided to focus on the state of Mississippi, a leader in the pro-life strategy to restrict abortion by using available legal tools. The state had only one abortion clinic still operating. Aronson’s first task was to win the trust and confidence of the champions on both sides of the abortion issue. She also had to gain access to an abortion clinic—not a straightforward proposal in many parts of the country. But her greatest challenge was to achieve a fair account, presented with a tone of informed neutrality. Aronson was well aware that the topic was explosive, value-laden, and divisive.

After months of research, negotiation, filming, and successive scripts, Aronson was ready by late September 2005 to make a so-called “rough cut,” or first draft, matching the script to the video and other material she had. She had some 100 hours of tape to marshal into a coherent, and fair, one-hour documentary. Fairness would require a look at both sides, but in her mind it would have been insufficient to think in terms of 'equal time' or 'equal treatment.' The weight of the reporting might require more or less time devoted to one side or the other. Besides, there was another factor: Video carried an emotional weight which was hard to measure in feet of film or minutes onscreen. Nor was “good TV” the best yardstick—sometimes the most powerful footage was not fair at all because it verged on propaganda.

As Aronson considered the various individuals and groups she had filmed, some sequences stuck in her mind for their visual power; others had a more cerebral appeal. The trick would be to balance the legal history with the personal stories, the emotional against the explanatory material—and still remain true to her theme of chronicling why there was only one abortion clinic left in Mississippi.