"That, in a nutshell, is what this film is basically all about: reclaiming the conversation, returning it to women who I hope have a voice, who aren’t silenced, who can speak about what they need, and can ask for what they need and not be shamed into silence. "The rhetoric and speaking in the abstract has been going on for quite some time. Everybody knows what those talking points are; everybody knows what’s going to come out of the mouths of politicians. But who we don’t often hear from are the patients themselves, about what the impact is of these laws that are restricting access, and how they’re felt. So that was the clear intention: Let’s hear from women, let’s see the full faces — not as criminals, as real women. The more that happens, the more that [pro-choice advocates are] not seen as...some fringe group, the more that you can't dismiss [them].""I knew there was going to be a cumulative effect: that we needed to have many voices, not just a handful of voices. Because, again, that’s another way that the film could be dismissed, like: ‘Oh well, it was just her’ or ‘in that circumstance it would be okay but not in every circumstance.’ There’s power [in] including as many stories as we possibly could. "That being said: I interviewed more women than appeared in the film, and I longed to include every single story. But a 90-minute film ultimately has to have a cutoff. One of the things we’re doing with the film is encouraging women to come forward and share their stories. We have a website, StoriesWomenTell.com . We’ll still surround the film with stories the women choose to share.""I think these independent clinics are often the clinics that close first if they don’t have outside backing; they’re not nonprofits, so they don’t operate with a big profit margin by any means, but they can’t take donations. These are clinics working on a shoestring [budget] under the same restrictions and regulations that a Planned Parenthood would. They certainly have to meet all the standards as Planned Parenthood. They’re just independent. Many [clinics] are threatened; the future of being able to stay open [is threatened]; they see so many, many women. Hope Clinic [featured in the film] sees so many women — if Hope Clinic shuts down, I can’t imagine the impact that would have. [None of which is meant to] take anything away from the importance of Planned Parenthood."I don’t think anybody’s mind will be completely changed. But I think the film is really appealing to hearts more than minds. It’s about walking in the shoes of women who come from many different walks of life. But it’s about compassion. I certainly hope that a pro-life woman could see this film and have compassion for caregivers and patients, and maybe pro-choice women could see this film and have compassion for how some of these women have come to be active in the pro-life movement — that compassion returns to the conversation. It’s about real people. We need to take it away from this political rhetoric land."