OK...I didn't make that up in my Title...that was a quote I heard Senator Arlen Specter make once...I think in one of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings. At first I thought it was an over-the-top comment to make, but the more I thought about it, I think he's right.I am a Male who is strongly Pro-Choice, and have always been extremely interested in the abortion debate. The fact that this was supposed to be a balanced look at abortion from both sides made me interested in renting the film.Truth be told, this film is slanted towards the Pro-Choice side. If someone who is Pro-Life felt this was well-balanced, I'd be shocked. As others have noted, most of the Pro-Life people are shown practically frothing at the mouth, while most of the Pro-Choice people are reasoned intellectuals. I'll bet there are some extremely rational, calm people on the Pro-Life side, but we never saw them. I'm sure there are also over-the-top Pro-Choice extremists, but we didn't see many of them either. For example, I would have liked to have seen those who are so Pro-Choice defend sex-selection abortions. We didn't see that. As a Pro-Choice movie, there is more balance in it than is typically shown, but to say this movie is right down the middle on abortion would be incorrect. Still, I really liked this movie, and the last 20 minutes or so where we watch the woman going through the whole abortion process was extremely powerful, particularly her reaction at the end.I'm not sure there's a very wide market for a film like this. If you're a big follower of the abortion issue, it's definitely worth seeing. If you don't find this a hot button issue, you'll probably think most of this is much ado about nothing.

The only thing important missing from the film is the impact that overturning Roe v Wade might have on the infertility industry. My husband and I had to resort to in vitro in order to conceive our twin boys. Four fertilized eggs were implanted in me. Fortunately, only two remained viable. But what if all four survived? I would have chosen to "reduce" the embryos. As it was my pregnancy was difficult. I went into pre-term labor at 28 weeks. At 32 weeks they had to induce as my babies were starting to kill me. Imagine if I hadn't had the option to "reduce" and all four implanted. What if the law required me to carry the fetuses until my life was in danger instead of "reducing" early in the pregnancy? Or, what if I had 14 embryos, 4 implanted and 10 frozen? Would the frozen ones then be considered "alive" and therefore could not be discarted? What would be the option then? Would I be prosecuted for 10 counts of murder? So I think the film needed to cover this aspect of the debate. Otherwise it was an exceptional documentary.

No matter what your stance is on the Abortion debate, this film will make you reconsider your position.This is where the film is best- when it gets you to merely think about it. Many people either don't or are to stubborn to consider that they are wrong. So who is right? Well, according to "Lake of Fire" everyone is. It never takes a side. However, there are more wackos shown on the Pro-Life side then the Pro-Choice. Many mistake this a bias, but this is more to show understanding rather then to condemn. You may be surprised as I was in some of the information reviled ab out key figures in the Abortion issue such as Roe herself.So, if you are for or against Abortion this film will trouble you equally.I'm talking about actual abortions being shown twice,and crime scene photos of a woman with a hanger in her crotch dead from a failed abortion attempt. It will probably strengthen the view you already have,but you will leave with a better understanding for why your view is opposed.Apart from the subject matter, it is a beautiful film. The music is overall good, if perhapses depressing. The presentation overall is as good as anything Ken Burns has ever made. The time and effort spent on this project is just unprecedented. Truly not a film made for money or awards. Any person is interested in documentaries or is interested in making them would be wise to see this film at least once. Its one of the better achievements in documentary film making since "Hearts and Minds".

I saw a few people on here proclaiming themselves as pro-life and panning the film for supposedly being biased against their view.First of all, purely on balance alone I'd say the film is equal to both sides. It's just that most of the stuff which makes you want to be pro-life comes at the beginning of the film while most of the content which makes you want to be pro-choice comes in the second half. It seems to me that they're just upset that their side didn't get the proverbial last word.Secondly, this film is not about balance anyway. It's about documenting the cultural debate in the film about abortion in America. Whether one or two dissenting reviewers of this film are or not, the fact is that most of the pro-life advocates are Christian religious fringe. Of course there are exceptions, and they document that in the movie. Although I don't think Kaye should have given an hour to the secular atheist pro-lifers, because frankly there aren't that many of them.The criticism also seem to come from people who don't even understand any points being made in the movie -- one reviewer claimed that Chomsky was comparing abortion to a woman washing her hands. That's not what he was doing at all. His example was made to demonstrate the relativity involved with the process of placing value on life.In any event, the film definitely is a roller coaster ride, and there are times where you might find yourself at odds with your own opinion. The movie being as balanced as it is, probably wont change a lot of minds, but I would think at the very least it would soften your position one way or another. If it doesn't, you're either just stubborn, or you weren't even trying to pay attention to the message of the film.