White House plans to screen anti-abortion film Gosnell

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/apr/10/white-house-trump-anti-abortion-film-gosnell

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The White House has plans to host a screening of anti-abortion indie film Gosnell this Friday, Slate reports. This screening takes place just weeks after the Donald Trump raised concerns about late-term abortions following the passing of New York’s Reproductive Health Act. Invitations to the screening of the film, which depicts second- and third-trimester abortions in graphic detail, have been sent to pro-life activists across the US.

Released last year, Gosnell (full title: Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer) follows the trial of Kermit Gosnell, a doctor prosecuted in 2013 for first-degree murder. Gosnell ran an abortion clinic in Philadelphiawhere he performed illegal late-term abortions for disadvantaged women and was convicted for the killing of three babies born alive. Investigators noted a wealth of health code violations in the clinic, calling it a “house of horrors”.

The tradition of showing films in the White House began in 1915, and in recent years has been used to celebrate the work of activists, such as with the screening of The Danish Girl in 2015. The Trump administration’s first screening was Finding Dory.

Originally planned as a TV movie, Gosnell raised more than $2m through crowdfunding, and began filming in 2015. Since its release, it has been further supported by anti-abortion activists, with pro-life group Students for Life funding screenings of film in high schools and colleges across the US. Related recent release Unplanned, which follows the journey of a former Planned Parenthood clinic director as they become an anti-abortion activist, has been praised by Donald Trump Jr and vice president Mike Pence. Pence said: “More and more Americans are embracing the sanctity of life because of powerful stories like this one.”