I can only imagine what some poor oversexed US theatregoer in 1966 who saw this serious Swiss melodrama/documentary about abortion, expecting a sexy exploitation film from the advertising, would think. There are clinical drawings of the female anatomy shown and the only skin seen is the bare legs of a lady having a baby! Perhaps K. Gordon Murray and David Friedman would provide an unannounced "square-up reel" in addition to the film, but as it is, there is no exploitation value to this serious film. On the other hand, watched in 2003 as a historical curio, the film is of much value. It is a serious and powerful tract supporting legal and safe abortion and presents a number of real-life stories of women forced to choose unsafe and illegal back-alley abortions. With a number of politicians in the US wanting to bring back the pre-Roe-vs.-Wade days again, the film is an eloquent voice in favor of reproductive freedom. It was no doubt seriously intended by the Swiss filmmakers and on that level is a fascinating historical document...although it has the entertainment value of some old b&w 16mm film I would have been shown in the early 70s in highschool "family living" class, something that would have seemed dated at the time.

Somehow, this West German movie originally called The Doctor Speaks Out (Der Arzt stellt fest...) played to American audiences as The Wages of Sin and The Price of Sin. Sure, in its native country it was a mediation on abortion, but over here, it was a chance to see a woman fully nude. Never mind that she was having a baby at the time.

Being that this played the grindhouse circuit, it also came complete with a not-real doctor discussing the miracle of birth and then, yes, showing more babies come out into the world in shocking detail.

What an astounding time for movies. And just think - you can have this on your shelf, just like I do, when someone is at your house and wonders, "You know, I've always wanted to see triplets get cut out of a human being."