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The most effective sequence in the entire film comes at the very end of its exhausting, emotionally draining 160 minutes. Here we see an extended scene of a single woman in 1996, going through the whole process of getting an abortion (from check-in to pre-op counseling, through the actual procedure and finally the aftermath). Kaye's camera focuses intensely on this woman's scarred face (mangled from years of domestic abuse) as she explains why she is going through the abortion. We watch as a single tear falls down her cheek as the doctor sucks the baby out. Then we see her in the waiting room after it's all done, as she tries to keep it together but ultimately breaks down. The film ends here, appropriately, in a deeply complex, human moment that puts everything else into perspective.

Abortion is not easy, and it has a very human cost. Kaye ends the film by bringing us back to this realization. We can fight about it all day, but ultimately we must deal with the reality of abortion: why they happen, and what we can do to love and counsel those mothers who feel them necessary. If only more of the film contained the humanistic grace and emotional resonance of the final scene, perhaps it would have lived up to some of the hype. As it is, though, Lake of Fire is just the latest in a long list of hyper-politicized, sensationalistic documentaries that are high on scare tactics and shock value, but low on progressive discourse.

Talk About It

1. What can Christians do to remove the "Christian terrorist" image we have become associated with in regard to abortion? What are the other stereotypes in this film that we have to overcome?
2. What do you make of Peter Singer's comment that killing is only wrong when the person being killed consciously wants to go on living—so since babies can't think, "I want to go on living," we should have no qualms about ending their lives? What are the implications of this philosophy?
3. Why do you think this issue has been such a violent, impassioned debate—far more than any other one issue in the past thirty years?
4. Are there other ways to be "pro-life" besides trying to prevent abortions? How?

The Family Corner

Lake of Fire is unrated, but would probably be given an R rating by the MPAA, mostly for its serious subject matter and a few wrenching scenes of explicit abortions. These particular scenes are terrible to watch, and include close-ups of dismembered baby fetuses. Additionally, there are some violent crime-scene images in which recently-shot bodies are strewn about (the result of violent attacks on abortion clinics). For these and other startling images, the film is appropriate only for adults, but even for adults, we urge caution. Certainly, it is not a film for young children.

Photos © Copyright THINKFilm

© Brett McCracken subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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