The conversation that was sparked on my review of Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein’s documentary, The Business of Being Born, was a heated one.

Basically, it went like this:

1. “Ricki Lake bases her advocacy of homebirth on mistruths, half truths and outright lies. Don’t let her fool you.” – Dr. Amy
2. “I’m not fooled by Ricki Lake. And I’m not fooled by stats either. There is a problem with how birth is approached in North America.” – Danielle
3. “Women cannot make conscious choices and be empowered when they are fed mistruths, half truths and outright lies.”- Dr. Amy
4. “Empowered women’s health and wellness can only take root when girls and women are taught to love and accept our bodies for the amazing eco-systems that they are.” - Laura
5. “No, birth has been considered agonizing across time, place and culture!!! This is not a matter of personal opinion. It is irrefutable fact.” – Dr. Amy.

I received a number of off-line emails to the effect of, “I wanted to jump into the conversation, but Dr. Amy put me off.” Extreme righteousness tends to be off-putting.

The contest to win a Copy of The Business of Being Born was based on this: “Reply to this blog post and let us know: What would empowered women’s wellness look like? We’ll send a Business of Being Born DVD to the reply that sparks the most discussion amongst ourselves or on-line.”

Well, Dr. Amy certainly sparked a lot of discussion, but we never really heard anything about “empowered women’s wellness.” Sounded to us like that the doctors still have all the power in Dr. Amy’s world.

So we’re awarding The Business of Being Born DVD to someone who also stirred it up, Laura Wershler. And get this, she works with a non-profit organization that screens documentaries to generate discussion about issues relating to sexual and reproductive health. Now that’s empowering.