Few socio-political issues foment the passion that abortion and its alternatives generate. Pro-choice, pro-life, whatever the language, the debate is charged.

In Canada, that debate is renewed because of the controversial announcement that Henry Morgentaler -- the Montreal doctor who pioneered abortion clinics and inspired seismic shifts in the law -- will be awarded the Order of Canada.

This column is not intended to extend the argument, pro or con. I personally think Morgentaler is an angel of mercy, not an agent of death, and deserves to be honoured. Some others believe his inclusion debases other honourees. We won't bridge that abyss today.

What is intriguing -- if coincidental -- is that there are films new to DVD which happen to deal with the same issues, each uniquely. Three ask for special attention: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; Bella; and Lake of Fire.

None is a cheap polemic. Drama, by its nature, should explore the human condition through complexity. If that means embracing contradictions, ambiguity and uncertainty, okay. Life should not be reduced to simplistic ideals.

That was true with Jason Reitman's marvellous Juno. Ellen Page earned an Oscar nom for playing a teen dealing with her unwanted pregnancy in creative fashion. A scene in which she goes to an abortion clinic is treated as serious satire. The single anti-abortion protester is a comic simpleton, yet Juno decides to go full term and plan for adoption. That is the point of choice: She exercises her freedom.

But Juno confused pro-choice vs. pro-life campaigners because it did not fit nicely into their plans as propaganda. Good. That applies to other recent films which trod this ground, including the period English drama Vera Drake, the futuristic chiller Children of Men and even the hilarious comedy Knocked Up.

Additions to the debate are:

- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days: This is the harrowing yet brilliant Romanian film which earned the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2007. Cristian Mungiu tells this true story from 1987, when abortion was illegal in Romania. In a sad, torturous case, a young woman helps her college roommate arrange an illegal abortion. At what price? The abortionist is a monster.

Mungiu deftly presents the scenario without commentary, not even in the friends, dialogue. By showing the truth of backroom abortions, however, the film demonstrates that making them illegal can lead to exploitation and tragedy.

- Bella: Made in the U.S. by Latinos, Alejandro Monteverde's gentle, uplifting film tells a story of how a New York chef -- a burned-out former soccer star -- recovers his humanity. He does so by befriending a co-worker, a pregnant waitress abandoned by her boyfriend.

Mexican-born actor Eduardo Verastegui crafts a carefully restrained portrait of a man in turmoil, while Tammy Blanchard is lovely as the waitress. For reasons specific to this story, Verastegui spends most of the film establishing reasons for Blanchard to make her choice with an open heart and a open mind.

Verastegui has now signed on as spokesman for an American adoption organization. Bella, for him, is a social statement. But the beguiling film is not a high-pressure tactic. Instead, it is an intimate exploration of one scenario.

- Lake of Fire: American filmmaker Tony Kaye (American History X) is an eccentric madman. He also happens to be gifted in the art of creative confrontation. This documentary is a staggeringly comprehensive treatment of abortion.

Kaye gives both sides equal time, for better and for worse. Dogmatic extremists vie for attention with moderates, including Noam Chomsky. He explores the nature of right and wrong and posits that there is no one moral answer on abortion, which may be the real truth here.