Destiny Lopez, Guttmacher Co‑President and CEO, connects The Devil Is Busy—an Oscar‑nominated documentary following the Feminist Center for Reproductive Liberation in Atlanta as its staff provide abortion care under Georgia’s six‑week ban—with Guttmacher Institute data showing more than 17,000 clinician‑provided abortions in Georgia in early 2025, including over 2,000 patients who traveled from other states. Stream the documentary now on HBO Max.
HBO documentary, The Devil Is Busy, highlights the challenges of post-Dobbs abortion access
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Transcript:
Destiny Lopez: The Devil is Busy is an Oscar-nominated documentary that takes us inside the daily work of the staff at the Feminist Center for Reproductive Liberation in Atlanta, Georgia.
The film follows clinic staff as they tirelessly provide abortion care to patients from across the country, navigating protests, political pressure, disinformation, and the real consequences of practicing in a state with a six-week abortion ban.
Documentary clip: “I never thought I would have more rights 25 years ago than my daughter does now. There are moments when you’re angry and you think ‘These are the people that made it to me, but how many did not?”
Destiny Lopez: At the Guttmacher Institute, we produce data on sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. We track legislation, analyze costs and funding outcomes and measure access to services.
The documentary adds faces and context to the trends we see in our research. In the first half of 2025, over 17,000 clinician-provided abortions took place in Georgia. Over 2,000 of those abortions were from patients from out of state, yet Georgia bans abortion at six weeks, before many people even know that they're pregnant.
For many, receiving care becomes a race against the clock. And for those forced to travel, the journey comes at a significant cost: childcare, transportation, lodging, time off work and the staff at the clinic work tirelessly to help ease those burdens.
Documentary clip: “I’m amazed by the work that we do here... Deep breaths in and out...Taking care of patients from all over the US...You’re from Tennessee?"
Destiny Lopez: The Devil is Busy makes it clear that abortion access should not be determined by your ZIP code. No one should be forced to leave their state or their community to access basic health care.
Behind every data point is a lived reality, and this documentary makes that reality impossible to ignore. The Devil is Busy is streaming now on HBO Max.