about ipas
newsroom
what we do
where we work
products
publications
contact

July 14, 2005
Drawing by Rosa
Though she does not appear in the documentary, Rosa remains constantly at the heart of the film, revealing herself and her world through her own words and drawings.
Drawing courtesy of Attie + Goldwater Productions.

Rosita, a documentary chronicling the ordeal of a 9-year-old Nicaraguan girl who was raped and impregnated and her family's subsequent fight to get her an abortion, debuted June 15th at the SILVERDOCS documentary film festival, where it was in competition for the documentary feature category.

The hour-long film from award-winning filmmakers Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater explores the gray area between culture, politics and religion that lies at the heart of the abortion rights debate, while tracing the personal struggle and journey of a young girl.

When Rosa became pregnant as a result of a rape, her parents—illiterate migrant farmworkers or campesinos working in Costa Rica—sought a legal “therapeutic” abortion to save their only child's life. Although Costa Rican law permits abortion when the pregnancy poses a risk to a pregnant woman's life or health, the attending physicians did not inform Rosa or her parents of the option and denied that she was eligible for the procedure.

“Rosa's providers failed to consider Rosa as an individual human being vulnerable to long-term health consequences and with rights to information about her health condition,” said Heathe Luz McNaughton of Ipas, who is featured in the film. “The lack of guidance to clarify the law means that providers can make personal judgments about requests, leading to discrimination and violation of women's right to health. In situations where abortion is highly stigmatized, this can result in the imposition of ideology over human rights.”

The family's quest pitted them against the governments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the medical establishment, and the Catholic Church. When their story gained international media attention, the repercussions rippled across Latin America and Europe.

“What happened with Rosa, because of her extreme youth, is that she really became sort of a symbol for a greater problem,” said Goldwater. “There was a huge amount of media and obviously a lot of governmental attention being focused on one person, and it seems absurd, but in fact, it brought our attention to issues that we need to be discussing.”

SILVERDOCS 2005, created through an alliance between the American Film Institute and Discovery Channel, ran June 14–19 at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Springs, MD. Now in its third year, the festival included 89 films representing 43 countries around the world and is one of the most prestigious documentary showcases in the United States.

“The film Rosita has tremendous appeal as it is a compelling human drama with enormous social impact,” said Patricia Finneran, festival director. “We were particularly interested in the film for US audiences as it provides an international perspective on several hot button issues, including abortion rights, separation of church and state and the power of the media to influence public opinion.”

The film draws viewers in through interviews, location footage and media coverage captured within months of the actual events. The drama unfolds chronologically, combining the public media reports with the private remembrances of those involved—Rosa's parents, lawyers, doctors, psychologists, priests and journalists.

“The events surrounding Rosa's pregnancy gave us a rare opportunity to look at the interaction between the personal, the political and the religious spheres of life,” said Goldwater. “The setting, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, provided an intriguing visual and cultural context for us to explore. But while there were aspects of the story that seemed ‘foreign' and uniquely Latin American, of course there were many aspects that feel very familiar to Americans who are involved in these issues.”

Rosita exposes the machinations of the politicians, doctors and clergymen, but shields the young protagonist from the camera—in keeping with the pledge the filmmakers made to the family. Yet Rosa remains constantly at the heart of the film, revealing herself and her world through her own words and drawings.

“Ideally, a health and human-rights framework imbues our decisions and demands for accountability with a clarity that transcends politics and rhetoric,” said McNaughton. “The experience of a small 9-year-old girl in Central America demonstrates how far we still have to go.”

Goldwater hopes the film's message will help bridge that gap.

“I think good documentary rarely has immediate impact,” she said. “I think it gives audiences the tools they need to understand the world around them in a way that other media often doesn't. We want Rosita to be a part, hopefully an important part, of the dialogue around reproductive health and population and violence against young girls and women. And of course that dialogue must address the extent to which we want church and government to make our decisions.”

For further information about the film, visit www.rositathemovie.com or contact bkattie@aol.com for purchasing and distribution inquiries.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258