Erin Persley’s new film, Human Shield, opens with Kelsea, a woman with vibrant lavender hair, who volunteers as an abortion clinic escort at A Woman’s Choice of Raleigh.
“I have felt the pressure and judgment that society puts on you when you have an abortion,” Kelsea said. “My first abortion, I was really committed to keeping that a secret. And I put all this shame and stigma on myself. It was isolating, it was terrible. I remember just like, hating myself and hating my body.”
“That was really transformative for me, like realizing how much hell I was willing to put myself through,” she said.
The film focuses on three volunteer escort groups in North Carolina, Ohio, and Maryland, before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision giving women the right to an abortion, and the tense aftermath.
Persley started filming in 2019, inspired by a 2015 Huffington Post article by Lauren Rankin titled, “What It’s Really Like to Be a Volunteer Escort at an Abortion Clinic.”
“I’m there to show them that they do have support, that it’s okay to make this choice,” Rankin wrote, “I’m there to be their human shield.”
“When I read the article, I just was sort of blown away,” Persley said. “I’m someone who’s pretty well-versed in the reproductive rights sphere, so I felt like I sort of knew as much as I could know. And when I read about clinic escorts, I was like, ‘Oh, I actually didn’t think about this sort of unknown, sort of invisible role that’s really vital for patients.’”
That got her curious.
“What are the people like who decide to volunteer?” Persley said. “They don’t get paid for it. They’re not staff members. They’re volunteering time out of their day.”
She decided to reach out to Rankin, who introduced her to the network of clinic escorts.
“I just started talking to escorts all over the country, and learning more about what they go through,” Persley said, “And then essentially I was like, ‘Oh, this has to be a documentary.’”
“Empathy is the heart of documentary filmmaking,” she said, “It’s like putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and seeing how they see the world…I think we sometimes need to turn ourselves off from escapist entertainment, and maybe we need to find some entertainment that really educates us.”
Persley’s team filmed for over four years.
“It took a while for everyone to sort of get the hang of things,” she said. “It took a while for the escorts to be themselves, which totally makes sense.”
Several months before they started filming, Persley visited the clinics without a camera to get the lay of the land and shadow the escorts.
In the beginning, they were really worried that the filming would make it more challenging for patients.
“When you bring a camera out, you’re asking for attention,” Persley explained, “And that sometimes can bring more stress to the escort.”
“The protesters would constantly try to goad us,” she said.
“One of the protesters said to me pretty early on, ‘Does your father know that you’re here?’” she said. “Or, ‘Aren’t you happy your mother didn’t abort you?’”
“It’s hard when they’re saying things to try to get a rise, but we just reminded ourselves that it wasn’t about us,” she said, “It’s about capturing what’s happening.”
There were moments, too, when patients were uncomfortable, or escorts needed a moment with the cameras off.
“You just have to figure out what’s the best way to respect the space,” Persley said.
Being a clinic escort can be really physically dangerous.
In 2022, Kirstin Cassell was hit by a protester’s car while escorting patients outside Greensboro’s A Woman’s Choice location, which was the city’s only abortion clinic at the time. (A Woman’s Choice-Greensboro is set to close April 30 after 10 years of serving the community. The clinic stopped providing abortions last month.) “Post-Roe, we’ve seen a lot of clinics close, and it’s really straining the clinics that are available, which is really hard and challenging for patients,” said Persley.
Clinic escorts also endure emotional attacks.
At one point in the film, as protesters approach clinic visitors holding pamphlets, waving signs, and berating patients and escorts alike, Kelsea jumps in to dissuade them.
“He’s not interested, leave him alone,” she tells protesters, “Let’s deescalate the situation, and y’all walk away, okay?”
“…Kelsea, lying liar that you are,” one protester yells at her.
Another continues to walk toward Kelsea, who begins to film them and tells them to back up.
“I’m not playing this game with you. I do not feel safe around y’all,” Kelsea said. “Y’all are hitting escorts in Greensboro with your fucking cars, I’m done.”
“God loves you, Kelsea, and He loves you even though you’re in pain, even though you’re hurting, even though your abortion you can’t take back, He still loves you,” another protester says.
Kelsea walks away with a hand pressed to her forehead.
Persley said she hopes the film will leave viewers hopeful and inspired.
“I want to remind them that these are ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” she said. “These are everyday people stepping up to support their community.”
“I wanted to tell the story that felt genuine and authentic to the escorts, and I just really felt like the story needed to get out there,” Persley said. “There are different types of people who can escort. You don’t have to be one kind of person, one kind of personality.”
“You can be a mom, you can have purple hair, you can be a husband, a wife,” she said, “You can be quiet, you can be louder, you can live in different areas, you can have different challenges, but this type of community care is really vital and really inspiring.”
Human Shield, one of the 178 films selected for the 28th RiverRun International Film Festival, will premiere April 19 at 4:30 p.m. at Hanesbrands Theatre in Winston-Salem, with an additional screening on April 25 at 1:30 p.m. at Marketplace Cinemas. Tickets are $14.
RiverRun will take place April 17-25 in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, with virtual screenings available.