Ruth Stoops is a poor indigent drug-user (a huffer - inhaling glue and paint for a high) whose down and out existence is complicated once more by becoming pregnant (she has had and lost four children already). When a judge orders that she gets an abortion or face a felony charge, she is befriended by Gail Stoney, a pro-lifer whose husband is president of the local "Babysavers" group. Suddenly Ruth is thrust into the middle of the pro-choice/pro-life struggle, with each side wanting her to take their side as a "message" to others - and the situation escalates...

The "ASK ME" pin worn by Kurtwood Smith in the hardware store shows up again in Alexander Payne's following film, Election (1999).

Clinic Nurse:
Let me just ask you something, Ruth. Have you ever really taken the time to think about what it means to have an abortion?


Ruth:
Yeah, um, it means that I don't have to go to jail and it means I don't have to have another baby and it means that I can start getting my life together ...


Clinic Nurse:
I, I, I, I, I. Don't you think that's all just a little selfish?

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Ruth is going out to party with her host family's daughter, she takes a hit from a bong, but does so incorrectly, not clearing the smoke from the chamber.