This week’s class took a different spin and was completed through on online module pertaining to Reproduction and its depiction in the media. The particular aspect of the module
I watched the film Juno for the first time back when it first hit theatres in 2007. I was 15 years old which was around the same age of the main character in the film Juno MacGuff. It quickly became my favourite movie. At the time I was living in Southern California and took every opportunity to flaunt my Canadian heritage and with the film being director and starred in by Canadians deepened my personal sentimental attachment to the story of the 16-year old girl (only 1 year my senior at the time) navigating the reality of an unwanted and unexpected pregnancy. At the time I did not really pay a lot of attention to the abortion clinic scene however re-watching that scene again in particular presented the message it was sending in a new light.
On the one hand I think it is very powerful showing the option of abortion for women who are left with the decision to make. Also the film does a decent job showing how accessible the process can be, as Juno enlists her friend Leah to call the Women Now clinic where they make an appointment for Juno’s abortion. Juno’s process to take her reproductive health into her own hands faces very little interference until she arrives at the clinic and is met by school mate Su-Chin. Su-Chin is a sole picketer outside the women’s clinic who has quite an impression on Juno. She informs Juno as she is entering the clinic about her unborn child’s beating heart and that it already has fingernails. Juno is then overwhelmed inside the clinic by all the noises of nails, nail tapping, nail filing, nail biting and nail picking. Juno is then overcome with the reality of her situation. The physicality of the fingernails, something so tangible evokes such a level of guilt in the main character that she flees the clinic in quite a dramatic fashion.
The guilt that Juno is faced with in the clinic is the sort of situation you’d be hard pressed for any 16 year old to have the tools to thoughtfully unpack. I do appreciate that the film thought it was necessary to go through all of Juno’s options in her situation as both abortion and adoption were explored. However the guilt narrative utilized by many radical pro-lifers is unsettling and manipulative. Juno does make the decision to give up her baby to adoption on her own accord, it may seem. Although her experience at the abortion clinic with Su-Chin is not uncommon, there is no one supporting her through that process, even the front desk receptionist at the clinic is unresponsive and not compassionate. The clinic is never portrayed as a safe zone. The exterior of the building is gloomy and not welcoming or encouraging of trust and supportive. Juno’s agency in the situation is questioned and threatened, which is a common set of circumstances for many young girls in the same position who are not as fortunate to garner the reaction Juno got from her father and step-mother who are thankfully very supportive.
I understand the movie would have lost its entire storyline had Juno gone through with the abortion and not been engulfed by the image of her fetus’ fingernails, however the emphasis on the guilt put upon this teenager is very real and prominent in the pro-life vs pro-choice debate.