The story is reminiscent of an underground network from the 1960s, but it is very relevant: it is the initiative of a group of women who mobilized, despite the risks, to give all American women access to a safe method of abortion in case of need, writes AFP.

Their battleground: the abortion pill

Plan C is both the title of a documentary screening this week at the major South by Southwest festival in Austin, US, and the name of the organization at the center of the film. It follows these women’s three-year rollercoaster ride between 2019 and 2022.

On the one hand, the pandemic made it possible to democratize teleconsultations and gradually start sending these pills by mail under their impetus. On the other hand, abortions – and therefore the abortion pill – have become completely illegal in a number of states following a decision by the US Supreme Court.

“Unfortunately, the anti-abortion party has partially won,” filmmaker Tracy Droz Tragos told AFP. And “we haven’t hit rock bottom in the U.S. yet,” she fears.

“But more and more people are resisting and making sure there is access” to abortion pills, she said. “So there’s an alternative, there’s a possible answer.”

“Doctors-heroes”.

In order to better spread the word about this method, in 2015 two women, Francine Coeito and Elisa Wells, founded the association “Plan C”.

Plan A is a contraceptive. Then there’s Plan B, better known as the morning-after pill. And then, in case of unwanted pregnancy, plan C: medical abortion.

They start by testing black market pills online to make sure they are genuine. If so, they list them on their website.

Then, during the pandemic, when these pills became increasingly difficult to find, they published a call for doctors to prescribe them via telemedicine and send them to patients.

“After talking to about 150 doctors, we’re down to five,” Eliza Wells told AFP. Plan C helps them cover the costs of setting up a teleconsultation service or obtaining medical licenses to practice in multiple states.

These female doctors are operating in a legal vacuum until the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clarifies the situation: yes, the pills can be mailed.

Numerous teleconsultation services appeared.

But in June 2022 there was an earthquake in the country: the Supreme Court returned to the states the freedom to issue abortion laws, which had become illegal in most of the country.

“Joining the Movement” is a secret network

While access is gradually being severely restricted, one supplier has agreed to continue shipping the pills to Republican states, including Texas. An underground network is being organized.

“It’s like running a drug cartel, but to help people,” says one of the anonymous women in the documentary.

Fear permeates every scene: fear for the women who use the pills, fear for those who help them. But also the fear that everything will stop and they will be left without a solution.

The details of how this works are deliberately not revealed in the film. Faces are blurred, voices are distorted, traces of removed places are unclear.

“I hope I’ve done enough and these people stay safe,” says the director, lamenting that a drug approved in the United States for more than 20 years has led to such clandestine operations. “It’s a tragedy,” she says.

Finding a platform to broadcast a documentary is proving difficult.

“People think the film is ‘too political’ and say it should stay ‘neutral,'” explains Tracy Droz Tregos, whose first documentary on abortion was critically acclaimed. This gave a voice to activists on both sides of the issue.

She hopes “Plan C” will send a message of hope to those who see it: that “they are not alone, that there is a network.”

After filming ended, another threat to the abortion pill appeared. An ultra-conservative judge in Texas is expected to issue a ruling that could halt its approval nationwide. (photo: Dreamstime)