#1547: Simulating One-on-One Conversations about Abortion Experiences to Change Minds with “The Choice – Chapters 2 & 3”

THE CHOICE returns to SXSW with the latest Chapters 2 and 3, and continues to capture intimate testimonials of women and couples who make the choice to abort their pregnancies. Chapters 1 and 2 take place in Texas where abortion is now nearly totally banned in all but a few situations. The legal specificity of these exceptions is ambiguous enough that doctors often avoid providing reproductive health care for abortions because they're afraid of being prosecuted or losing their license. This means that it is legal for doctors to lie to patients, which is what happens in Chapter 1 causing the protagonist to nearly die. Chapter 2 features a pregnancy clinic that turned out to be run by an anti-abortion religious group who tried to pressure her to not have an abortion. And Chapter 3 features an older Canadian couple who started to have some doubts, but ultimately decided to not carry the pregnancy to term. THE CHOICE features some really stereoscopic video effects combined with depth information to create a really realistic face-to-face conversation. As the viewer, you have the ability to subtly guide the conversation by choosing which questions to ask. But overall, it's a really powerful example of how these types of simulated conversations creates an engaged way for people to hear the details of someone's situation where they may actually change their opinion about abortion. Joanne Popinska and Tom C. Hall tell me that they have experienced being able to change minds with their first chapter, and they're looking forward to continuing to spread the word with their 2nd and 3rd chapters that premiered at SXSW. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality