When production company A24’s newest film ‘We Live in Time’ was released, viewers were quick to discuss their highly emotional and upsetting response to the movie. Directed by John Crowley and starring Andrew Garfield (Tobias) and Florence Pugh (Almut), this film centers around a recent divorcée and head chef finding love in sickness and in health.
However, the most tragic part of the film is not just Almut’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer, nor was it just the tribulations of intensive medical care — it’s realizing what could happen if reproductive health rights disappear.
Created as a presidential ‘playbook’ filled with conservative agendas, Project 2025 emerged from the Heritage Foundation in 2022, an organization led by two former Trump administration officials: Paul Dans (former chief of staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management) and Spencer Chretien (former special assistant). Though former President Donald Trump has publicly attempted to remove himself from the connotations surrounding this project, he refuses to directly comment on what aspects of it he does and does not believe in.
Although Trump claims that he has nothing to do with this 900-page playbook, it was found that at least 140 people who worked on this project have previously served in the Trump administration. The Foundation’s president, Kevin Roberts, is included in this number, and in an interview with the New York Times, has stated these plans will “institutionalize Trumpism.”
One major concern regarding the proposal surrounds women’s reproductive health. With the overturn of Roe v. Wade at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, an ‘impossible’ seeming reversal came true. Where does this leave the population if Project 2025 is enacted?
In the film, when Almut is diagnosed with cancer due to cysts found in her ovaries, she is given either the option of surgery to remove one ovary and undergo chemotherapy or a total hysterectomy. Upon choosing to keep one reproductive organ in case she decides to have children, she must go through an endless process of shots and treatments to be able to conceive.
If this conservative agenda takes over, would any of her treatments be protected if she were to have lived in the United States?
When Pugh’s character doubled over in pain due to her condition, she was taken to the hospital and it was first written off as a potential infection. Women’s pain is often dismissed by doctors and healthcare providers, often leading to misdiagnosis or denial of pain relief.
In reality, there is a 57% higher chance for women to be misdiagnosed compared to men, and in cases of gynecological conditions, 24% of women suffer the same consequence. This gender bias in healthcare will only multiply as potential restrictions are being called for concerning women’s reproductive systems.
Many Americans are highly concerned about what may happen surrounding women’s health, and Almut’s circumstances are no different. With the proposal’s vague language, it is difficult to tell if receiving a hysterectomy would fall under a form of ‘gender-affirming care’ that is being reevaluated.
Birth control is often used as an aid for treating ovarian cysts that can lead to cancer, and Trump had commented in an interview in May 2024 that he was open to supporting regulations on contraceptives and that a policy would be issued on it shortly.
However, later that day he claimed these comments were misinterpreted and the video of the interview was removed before it was set to air. When pressed further on this comment, he half-heartedly relayed the decision to states — instead of guaranteeing that women would be safe to make their own choices.
Though it is uncertain what Trump’s policies would be if elected, or how similar they are to Project 2025, there is still a cause for concern. Millions of women relate to Almut’s situation and many of their conditions are not taken seriously.
Despite the fictionality of this film, there are harsh realities to be found inside it that cannot be ignored. Although the message of “We Live in Time” wasn’t necessarily a call to reproductive rights, there is something to be said for the fear it instilled as a woman in America today.
