Film Description

The Other Side of the Fence is an engaging and surprising portrait of two women on opposite sides of the abortion controversy the filmmaker and her subject. The common ground they eventually find is both unexpected and revealing.
In 1985 Lynn Estomin went to work for Planned Parenthood. That same year Nancy O'Brien and her husband, Michael O'Brien, formed Project Jerico, a militant anti-abortion organization; Planned Parenthood's clinic was firebombed; Nancy O'Brien convinced Jerry Falwell to pledge a million dollars to the local anti-abortion movement; and Cincinnati became known as the national testing ground for anti-choice tactics. When Planned Parenthood was ordered by the Courts to videotape protests at the clinic, Lynn spent six hours almost every Saturday for two years observing Nancy through the lens of her camera. In 1988 Michael O'Brien dumped Nancy for a younger woman, her church blamed her for the divorce, the movement isolated her and Nancy disappeared from public view. Five years later Lynn tracked her down. The result is a fascinating insider's account of Project Jerico and the Religious Right. The Other Side of the Fence is a highly personal and engaging portrayal of one woman's struggle inside the fundamentalist movement and the self-examination that led her to question her beliefs.