HBO Max abortion clinic documentary turns the truth on its head

“The Devil is Busy,” a provocatively-named new documentary, features employees at the Feminist Women's Health Center in Atlanta, Georgia — an abortion business — who demonize pro-life sidewalk advocates while claiming that “everybody deserves to know they matter.”

The abortion business (now called the Feminist Center for Reproductive Liberation), plays up staffers' supposed fears of pro-life sidewalk counselors who offer life-affirming alternatives to women.

Produced by Soledad O’Brien (SO’B Productions) and aired by streaming service HBO Max, "The Devil is Busy" is backed in part by major abortion donor: the Ford Foundation.

Key Takeaways:

• A new documentary filmed at a Georgia abortion facility does not show or detail abortion; instead, it attempts to portray abortion workers as compassionate, kind, and Christian, while pro-life sidewalk counselors are referred to as if they are dangerous and on the side of "the devil."

• The facility's director of operations is motivated by her own past abortion, yet she admits she has wondered if the twins she lost later in life were a result of the abortion.

• Women visiting the facility were assigned numbers and were never referred to by their actual names.

• Many happenings in the documentary seem to have been left unexplained and intentionally vague.

Background: 

In Georgia, the Life Act protects preborn children from abortion at roughly six weeks gestation, however, multiple exceptions exist. In fact, for so-called "medical emergencies," an abortion can be committed in the state at any time in pregnancy if a physician decides to do one based on his or her 'reasonable medical judgment' of a maternal emergency. (Read more here to learn why it isn't necessary to intentionally and directly kill a preborn child to save his or her mother.)

The Details:

The documentary introduces the facility’s director of operations, Tracii, as she prepares for the day at the clinic while praying and laying out snacks for patients she refers to as ‘guests’ – many of whom are from out-of-state.

Tracii claims that the pro-life sidewalk counselors outside the facility say ‘vile’ things, noting that the center had hired security guards to protect the ‘guests’ from protestors.

Outside, one pro-life protester is heard saying, “If you’re pregnant, you’re already a mother… God’s knitting that child together in your womb right now. God has a purpose and a plan for that child,” while another says, “Let's trust God today.”​

In the film, Tracii instructs security personnel to provide each patient with a numbered wristband and explains that the number is the only identifier each woman will have during the entirety of her appointment.

The Devil Is Busy | Official Trailer

"The devil"

To counter the pro-life message, Tracii shares with the camera that she tells the women, “Don’t let the devil get in your spirit… at the end of the day… this is health care, period,” as she leads them into the clinic waiting room decorated with a painting that says, ‘Trust yourself.”

As some former abortionists and pro-life providers alike have stated, the intentional killing of human beings (including those in the womb) simply does not fit the true definition or intent of health care.

Abortion trauma?

Tracii apparently works at at the abortion clinic because of her own previous abortion she had when she was younger.

With tears in her eyes, she also recounts the tragic loss of her twins, later in her life after she got married; one was stillborn and the other died shortly after birth. She claimed she often wonders if the twins' deaths were caused by the abortion she had earlier in life.

Tracii’s concern is not unfounded; abortion comes with physical and psychological risks, and some women have experienced infertility after abortion (though uncommon) and some abortion complications may lead to a higher risk of future miscarriage. 

At one point, Tracii states that she believes “everybody deserves to know that they matter.” For Tracii, it seems this belief does not include the uniquely whole human inside his or her mother’s womb, and begs the question of whether she shares her concerns and painful past experience with any of the women she leads through the doors of the facility. ​  

A Never Before Seen Look At Human Life In The Womb | Baby Olivia

Vagueness and omissions

The film rarely goes into specifics about the events occurring there; it appears the goal, instead, is to portray abortion providers as kind, loving, protective of women, and "Christian," while painting pro-life sidewalk counselors as dangerous people who are to be feared.

Even the types of abortions happening at the facility are glossed over. At one point in the film, two staff members discuss "fetal anomalies" while they attempt to determine how to word verbiage more strongly on an unidentified document. This is never explained.

At another point, the abortionist appears to be performing a D&E (second-trimester abortion), but the film goes into no specifics about the abortion at all, making it difficult to determine; again, this is never explained.

A scene in which an abdominal sonogram is performed is equally vague. The tech mentions that the ultrasound shows a roughly five-week sac (approximately three weeks after fertilization) with allegedly no heart activity detected. (Though, at this early stage, it is typically a trans-vaginal ultrasound, not an abdominal ultrasound, that is used to detect a heartbeat.) The patient tears up in relief at this news, but there no mention of why the sonogram was done or the significance of the lack of a heartbeat, etc.

Why It Matters:

The abortion industry operates with a significant financial incentive, but the documentary does not mention this. The film also ignores the controversial history and origins of pro-abortion organizations, like Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Sistersong. 

Ironically, this documentary about abortion never actually discusses the abortion procedures themselves, or the risks commonly associated with abortion. 

Abortion Doctors Share How The Most Common Abortion Procedures Take Place

The abortion business’s 2021-2023 impact statements indicate that over 8,700 abortions were committed there on predominantly Black and Hispanic women who visited the facility. This figure represents nearly 75% of its services.

The Bottom Line:

Women and men deserve to know the truth about abortion and its consequences, just as every human being deserves the fundamental right to life.

By failing to present the harsh truth about abortion, the documentary misleads its viewers into thinking that killing is compassion.