the audience applauded

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

American producers and documentary directors Lana Wilson and Martha Shane's individually debut and second documentary feature which they co-wrote with film editor and director Greg O'Toole, was conceived after Lana Wilson had watched a news coverage in 2009 concerning an American late term abortion care provider and Lutheran named George R. Tiller and the anti-abortion movement in the United States. It premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition section at the 29th Sundance Film Festival in 2013, was shot on locations in USA and is an American production which was produced by Lana Wilson and Martha Shane. It tells the story about four educated and trained professional physicians named LeRoy Carhart, Susan Robinson, Shelley Sella and Warren Hern who openly works and performs third-trimester abortions which are often done at the stage in the gravidity when the once biological cell called zygote is potentially able to live outside the woman's uterus, at legitimate abortion clinics in the American states of Maryland, New Mexico and Colorado. Distinctly and subtly directed by independent filmmakers Lana Wilson and Martha Shane, this quietly paced and non-fictional documentary which is narrated from multiple viewpoints, draws a reasonable, humane and informative portrayal of two men and two women who despite decades of consistent persecution by people who are against their practice of legal medical abortions, assists, protects and respects the rights of women to make their own decisions based on their own evaluations and carry out the surgical treatment they ask for if the surgery doesn't endanger their reproductive health or their lives. While notable for its real milieu depictions, reverent cinematography by cinematographers Hillary Spera and Emily Topper and use of sound, this dialog-driven and narrative-driven true story about a critical medical service within the public health sector which was legalized in the U.S. in 1973 by the U.S. supreme court, potential life, alleviation of suffering, human interest before state interest, a woman educated pro-choice physician who continued his fathers' work in the early 1970s, the people whom he inspired and how they work with their patients and regard their profession, the history of anti-abortion crimes, and the variegated and far from casual reasons as to why someone goes through with these specific types of abortion which are distinguishable from miscarriage and first-trimester, second-trimester, self-induced, forced, sex-selective and illegal abortion, contains numerous interesting and heartrending interviews and a timely score by composers Andy Cabic and Eric D. Johnson. This constructively conversational, densely observed and relevant feature-length documentary which is set in the United States of America in the early 21st century and where women from various age groups, situations and religious or non-religious upbringing who are twenty-nine weeks and longer into their pregnancy are provided with an opportunity to tell their stories without having to justify themselves to anyone, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle continuity, substantial depictions of the real-life situations of the doctors, distanced look at some of the protesters and by choosing to remain close to the main subjects who are vital to the understanding of the central theme and emphasizing theirs, the nurses, the counsellors and the patients' viewpoints instead of constructing a more fragmented narrative with the archival footage which is commendably used to enlighten rather than to inflame. An accomplished approach to a historic theme which is exemplified when a polarized sixteen-year-old Roman Catholic girl navigates it into the center of humanity.

Abortion is probably the most controversial issue in so-called 'cultural wars' of modern Western countries. Slogans, monikers, personal attacks, dirty political moves national an local, and - sadly - sometimes violence, are present and real.This documentary follows a group of doctors and other medical staff working at a handful of US clinics that perform very controversial late- term abortions on third trimester, using the murder of Dr. George Tiller in 2009 as a convergence point to which the film will go back several times to assert viewers of the process of victimization of these professionals working at those clinics.I recognize people have very different opinions on abortion, and that such opinions can be highly divisive. Personally, I abhor any justification for premeditated violence like arson, vandalism, drive-by shooting let alone murder as a way to get your views imposed on others.In this context, "After Tiller" tries to showcase the environment of fear, stress and even social isolation that the professionals performing these controversial, albeit legal, procedures face. It is easy to see the effects that dehumanizing people one disagree with have on creating a corrosive environment that doesn't spare them, their relatives or friends. The documentary does a good job on showing the dark side of the 'mob mentality' that commands the tiny, but dangerous, faction of anti- abortion activists who rationalize their own use of violence. The film does is in a non-sensationalist manner, avoiding the low- hanging approaches of exploring the emotions of people affected by these incidents. It leaves to the viewer to draw his/her own conclusions about the impact of mob-style activism and its effects on a free society.However, this strive for an unbiased perspective gets tossed out when the filmmakers delve into the rationalization process that the medical staff performing these abortions go through, and that is the major flaw of the documentary. As one professional recognizes at some point, abortions done well past 28 or 29 weeks are in effect euthanasia-and- stillborn deliveries. The documentary is very deceptive in that it downplays crucial differences between early-stage abortions when, as someone said in the film, the fetus is "mostly a mess of tissue". The idea of euthanasia of viable fetuses that could well survive as pre- term babies outside the womb is a very controversial one, especially when, as it is the case in all cases of patients followed on the documentary, the life of the mother is not at risk in any way. The directors made it look like there are no major difference between claims that 'Plan B is murder' and euthanizing a viable a 27-week fetus because the mother cannot cope with the idea of giving a live baby to adoption while also not wanting to raise another kid.By falling into this trap, the documentary takes an equally extreme assumption to the ones it rightfully show as such on the other spectrum of the abortion discussion. One might well watch the documentary thinking that any opposition to abortion before actual labor starts is the same, and that no other issues or mishandling happens in the process (like lack of proper counsel for early pregnancy of teen mothers). From the documentary implied perspective, there is no possible position other than fully supporting the work or late-term abortion workers, or being an extremist against all rights of women regarding their reproductive health. I was not even expecting some more confrontational content on the issue of late-term abortions, but at the very least some additional perspectives on whether other measures within the health care system could be used to prevent women from having to undergo such procedures in first place. Balancing it all, I'll give this documentary a score of 5: flawed in part, very interesting in other segments.

'After Tiller' takes its name from Dr. George Tiller, the pioneering physician who conducted third trimester abortions, and was murdered by an anti-abortion zealot in Wichita, Kansas in 2009. The documentary chronicles the four doctors who trained under him and now are the only physicians in the world who conduct this complicated procedure.The documentary begins chillingly with a 911 call from the scene (Dr. Tiller's church), where he was murdered. We then begin to meet the four physicians, all of whom to this day, face death threats. One of the physicians, Dr. LeRoy Carhart, defiantly informs us that he won't give into "terrorists." We see him ending up moving his clinic from Nebraska to Maryland after Nebraska passed a law that abortions could not be conducted after 20 weeks of pregnancy.Drs. Susan Robinson and Shelley Sella alternate at a clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Robinson makes it clear that she won't and can't accept every case. Everything is done on a case by case basis; sometimes, a woman is too far along in the pregnancy or there isn't a compelling enough reason to say yes. Sella is circumspect: she admits that she's not aborting a 'fetus' but actually a baby, that is stillborn, and she struggles with that idea.Dr. Warren Hern practices out of Boulder, Colorado. The documentary highlights how his decision to do this kind of work, had for a long time left him lonely and taken a personal toll on his psyche. The continuing threats against him led to the breakup with his first wife and it was only much more recently, that he met another woman and got married.The value in 'After Tiller' is that it shows that there are very good reasons why late abortions are necessary. The most compelling reason revolves around women who find that their babies, due to fetal abnormalities, will be born with severe birth defects or only live for a short while, in great pain. There is also the case of women who are raped. It's quite understandable why women in this situation, would not want to give birth. During the film, women are interviewed (their faces are not shown), who find themselves in these harrowing positions.There are also cases where teenagers get pregnant and are unaware (or are in denial) about the pregnancy. They simply are not emotionally prepared to give birth or raise a child. Before any of the doctors agree to the abortion, they carefully make sure if this is what their patients want. They don't browbeat them into anything as pro-lifers have suggested.One can only feel contempt for a great majority of the anti-abortion zealots who are constantly harassing these professional practitioners. After all, women have the right to do what they want with their own bodies, especially when they're faced with the excruciating reality of raising an extremely handicapped child. Don't expect the anti-abortion crowd, these holier than thou hypocrites, to volunteer to raise severely handicapped children themselves for the rest of the child's life (some of whom grow to adulthood unable to speak or walk). The same goes for rape victims. And what of teenagers who aren't ready to have a baby? Is it right to insist that a teenager who is merely a child, to give birth, and then is unable to raise the child properly? Imagine the consequences to that child when they're either neglected, abused or even abandoned. All because a fanatical group insists on an abstract concept called the 'sanctity of life' without examining the reality of a woman's situation. Ultimately it is the lack of flexibility that drives the anti-abortion crowd. They're not interested in what's going on with women who are simply not in a position (or ready) to give birth. They expect everyone else to make extreme sacrifices but when push comes to shove, they would not make those sacrifices themselves. 'After Tiller' boldly does an excellent job, highlighting the professional job the four doctors do in conducting late trimester abortions. The more people see this film, they will have an understanding why in many cases, the late trimester abortion is a necessity, instrumental in saving women, from a future life of dread, that they have no desire to experience.

First and foremost: Don't confuse a review of this film with a review of the practices involved. (I've seen at least one negative review of this film that was clearly by someone who had not seen the film, but wished only to voice an opinion about the general subject matter).See this film. Pro-choice, pro-life, undecided? Doesn't matter. See this film. It will only help you to better the subject.This film is the best documentary I've seen. I don't mean just because the content is amazing, of course, but the quality of the portrayal is also almost shockingly good. A number of the filming techniques did an *extremely* effective job of letting us see insides the minds and hearts of both doctors *and* patients.In a topic as emotionally charged as what this film covers, it's easy to get caught up in the subject as "abstract." This film helps us to see the real impact and effects these people - and practices - have. It's not always pretty, and it can be very difficult to watch, but I feel significantly more connected to the whole subject now.Yes, the film leans in some ways toward "pro-choice," but it in fact makes some very clear points about just how difficult that choice is. I won't spoil it, but the most intense moment of the film for me happened right there. And the film doesn't vilify the pro-life people - they're ever-present, as in real life, but they are portrayed honestly as well. It's clear they are as passionate as the doctors.This is just, overall, a very brutally honest film.I had the good fortune to see this in a small theater, and one of the directors did a video-chat with the theater as a Q & A. That was a nice touch, but my 10/10 review was cinched the moment the film ended.