Ventre Livre

`Ventre Livre' brought to light the situations that are occurring around the world (more common in certain places), and how a local group of women deals with a couple in particular. I have decided to point out the portions of the film that affected me more strongly than others. It is difficult to see how killing 1+ of your children can make your life better. A recurring characteristic of these women and their illegal access to an abortion was how much they used that to their advantage. However, after a woman has had 1 abortion, her actions seem to be repetitive to the sense that it's no big deal to have another abortion. I believe that a lack of education contributes to poorly thought-out decisions. This is the case with Brazilian in the recent years. The facts stated and the personal interviews of `Ventre Livre' have truthfully made a lasting impression on me. It was effectively communicated to me that the purpose of this film was to raise awareness about teenagers' and women's health care, abortions, and sterilizations in Brazil, and I recommend this informative title to anyone Furthermore, the interviews that bothered me the most were the ones in which the women described the methods they used to give themselves an abortion. Do you consider abortion to be a way out of a bad situation? Do you think that these women feel any extent of remorse? If not, then they probably don't think that they are doing anything wrong, which is sad. Everyday around the world women are faced with the decision : Which of the following would you rather live with: the guilt that you made the decision to kill your child, or raising a child, possibly struggling to do so? Do you consider murder to be a cruel act 100% of the time, or do you feel that there are exceptional situations in which you can pardon the act of terminating the life inside the womb and accept it? .these are the types of questions over which I pondered during the film and I still think about them today. I could not believe I was watching and listening to these women talk so casually about their abortions and sterilizations. When something becomes more common, it is human nature to consider it more socially acceptable, because it is being done by a growing number of individuals. As a result, these topics often become more comfortable to talk about. We can not let this become the case with abortions and sterilizations in our society. Let us use this film as a learning tool which we can apply to our community here in the United States. With that, bring hope that we become more conscious about our everyday decisions, and aware of the possible consequences. Making more educated choices will prevent us from having to deal with these types of emotional experiences.

`Ventre Livre' is an eye opening piece about the sterilization of women in Brazil. Upon hearing this topic, I expected that this would be a problem which, while terrible, only affected a small percentage of Brazilian women. However, a shocking 1 in 3 women in Brazil has been sterilized by the government, many during their teenage years. Before watching this film, it had never occurred to me that such a high percentage of the world could not afford contraceptives.

`Ventre Livre' does an excellent job of making the viewer sympathize with the women it depicts. I felt very sorry for the women in their 20's 30's who want to have more children but cannot anymore. The film also does an excellent job depicting the ignorance in even Brazilian society at large. Brazil is the most segregated country in the world by class, and the film leaves a lasting impression of the dichotomy between rich and poor. It is alarming that in a modern society, the woman of one class are being sterelized en masse while the wealthy seem oblivious.

I believe that if a documentary brings attention to a topic of which most of its viewers had never before heard, then it is a success. `Ventre Livre' was eye opening about a brutal practice occurring in our modern world.

Before viewing this documentary, I had no idea about the enormous amount of sterilizations within the Brazilian culture and the women who are plagued by this act. `Ventre Livre' clearly demonstrates the struggle that the women of Brazil go through in regards to fertility and how men and leaders in society have an underlying control over something that everyone woman has a right to- her own body. Through inequalities in society, the poor and undereducated (majority of) women are led to believe that sterilization is the only option. They lack education and information about pregnancy, contraceptives, and abortion and instead are forced to alter their bodies in an irreversible way. One of the most shocking parts of the documentary is the discussion of the election of the governmental candidate. I could not believe that this man bribed women for their votes by offering them free sterilizations. Women with little money could not afford to have more children or afford this costly procedure, so they saw his offer as irresistible. They overlooked the fact that he was bribing them, and due to a lack of education assumed that sterilization was their only option. It was amazing to me that because of society, a person can lose control of their own body, and that many people will take advantage of this situation. I found this documentary very interesting and it made me want to learn more about the drastic inequalities within Brazilian culture in regards to social class, sex, and education. I recommend this dramatic, and at times upsetting, documentary to anybody interested in these issues or anybody who would like to learn more about the role of women in different societies.

When this movie first started up, I wasn't sure what the problem being addressed was. To my surprise, the major problem in Brazil being discussed in the movie was the sterilization of women. Hundreds of thousands of young and old Brazilian women turn to sterilization as a means of contraception due to the lack of other forms and methods. The interviews with some of the women are rather intriguing, and some of the interviews with the men are somewhat comical yet also rather disappointing. When asked about sterilization, many women regretted having it done because of never being able to have any more children, while others saw it is a blessing when they had ten or more children already. The comments of men who said that sterilization is for women and they would never consider having it done to themselves is somewhat disturbing, in my opinion. Overall this movie is intriguing, shocking, and depressing all at once. The stories of many women are sad and reveal the extent of the problem that plagues Brazil. The extent of government corruption is also quite shocking, and the relative apathy with which many politicians in Brazil treat the problem. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in human rights, women's rights, or poverty issues in foreign countries, this movie is definitely an eye-opener for an American who has never faced problems such as these in our country.

Before I watched this film I had no idea of the situation of several thousands of women in Brazil. The film was not only educational, but also very awakening. You always hear about women being suppressed in Latin American countries, but until you hear personal stories it does not have such a profound effect on you. The statistics they gave on the number of women that are sterilized and opting for abortion were shocking. One thing I would have liked to see in the movie is an clearer explanation of the political situation of the country and I would have liked to been given some ideas of how to help. I do not understand why so many women are continuing to get pregnant. Is there no forms of birth control offered in Brazil or is it too expensive for the women we met? I would definitely suggest this movie, it really helps you to not only understand the situation, but to feel for the situation as well.