For Immediate Release: Sunday, March 15, 2026
Contact: [email protected]
Reproductive Freedom for All Celebrates the Oscar Nomination of “The Devil Is Busy”
Washington, DC — Ahead of the 98th Academy Awards tonight, Reproductive Freedom for All applauds the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for nominating and uplifting The Devil Is Busy for Best Documentary Short Film.
At a time when the real-world impact of abortion bans too often goes underreported, this film brings urgently needed attention to the lived experiences of patients and providers navigating reproductive health care under Georgia’s restrictive six-week abortion ban.
Directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Christalyn Hampton and produced by Soledad O’Brien, Rose Arce, and Amber Fares, the documentary elevates the stories of patients, providers, and clinic staff working to ensure people can still access care in an environment shaped by escalating threats, harassment, and restrictive abortion laws.
Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“Every single day, people seeking reproductive health care are met with obstacles and attacks driven by anti-abortion extremists. The Devil Is Busy shows what that reality looks like for patients and providers navigating care under abortion bans. It captures the stakes in deeply human moments. In one ultrasound room, a patient learns she is still within the state’s legal limit to receive abortion care and feels relief. In another, a patient arrives just one day too late, at six weeks and one day, and is turned away. That difference of a single day echoes throughout the film and reveals the real-life consequences of abortion bans. We are so grateful to the filmmakers for bringing these stories to the big screen. At a time when the real-world impact of abortion bans remains underreported, this film helps bring those experiences to the forefront.”
The Devil Is Busy follows Tracii, head of security at the Feminist Center for Reproductive Liberation, formerly known as the Feminist Women’s Health Center, in Atlanta, through a typical day, ensuring patients can safely access care. A deeply religious woman herself, Tracii reflects on her own abortion experience while working to support and protect patients from protestors outside the clinic who invoke Christianity as they attempt to shame and intimidate patients seeking care.
Patients arrive seeking a range of medical services, including abortion care, preventive screenings, checkups, and other reproductive health services. The film highlights the essential work of clinic staff, volunteers, and providers who ensure patients can safely access care despite harassment from anti-abortion extremists, offering a window into the challenges reproductive health providers face navigating care in the post-Dobbs landscape while operating under Georgia’s restrictive six-week abortion ban and others like it.
On the most recent episode of My Body. My Pod, O’Brien joined Timmaraju to talk about the film and the importance of telling these stories on the ground.
Abortion bans are not abstract political debates. They directly shape people’s lives, their health, their families, and their futures. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wadestates across the country have enacted sweeping bans and restrictions on abortion care. Today, 22 states have restricted or eliminated abortion access. Films like The Devil Is Busy play a critical role in bringing the real-life consequences of these laws into view, highlighting the experiences of patients and providers navigating care in a rapidly changing landscape. By elevating these stories, the film helps ensure the public understands what access to reproductive health care looks like on the ground today. Reproductive Freedom for All is glad the Academy recognized this important film with a nomination and wishes it continued success.
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For over 55 years, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.