When the Clint Eastwood film "Million Dollar Baby" came out, critics praised the film for its subtle power, moving performances and the quiet confidence of its director. But not wanting to give away its ending, few mentioned that a controversial social issue was buried in its plot.

But now that it has been nominated for seven Oscars, social activists and conservative commentators have emerged to criticize the film.

Defenders of the film say its intention is not to make a broad political statement, and that it is the filmmakers' right to tell the story he or she chooses. (Those who have not seen the movie and do not wish to know the plot may not want to read further.)

The movie is not principally about assisted suicide and euthanasia. "Million Dollar Baby" tells the story of a young woman (Hilary Swank) who strives to be a champion boxer, being groomed by a crusty old trainer, played by Eastwood.

But when her character is badly injured and paralyzed, Eastwood's character must decide whether to help her die, and ultimately — despite the urging of a priest to do otherwise — does so.

Both Swank and Eastwood were nominated for their performances, along with Morgan Freeman, playing an ex-boxer, who is up for best supporting actor. Eastwood was also nominated for his direction, and the film is up for best picture.

Conservative critics including Michael Medved, Rush Limbaugh and Debbie Schlussel have criticized the film widely on the air and elsewhere, with Schlussel calling the film "a left-wing diatribe" on her Web site, a somewhat unusual claim given Eastwood's status as a gun-slinging Dirty Harry and real-life history as a Republican former mayor of Carmel, Calif.

But advocates for the rights of the disabled also are taking aim, saying the character's decision to die sends the wrong message to those struggling to deal with spinal cord injuries.

"Any movie that sends a message that having a spinal cord injury is a fate worse than death is a movie that concerns us tremendously," said Marcie Roth, executive director of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. She cited a letter from a mother with a paralyzed son, who said the film had made it more difficult for her to keep hope alive in him.

Others are angrier still. "This movie is a corny, melodramatic assault on people with disabilities," wrote Stephen Drake on the Web site of a Chicago-based activist group called Not Dead Yet, which picketed the film there this month. "It plays out killing as a romantic fantasy and gives emotional life to the 'better dead than disabled' mindset lurking in the heart of the typical (read: nondisabled) audience member."

Eastwood said in a telephone interview that he was not surprised at the protest, but that the film was not about the right to die. "The film is supposed to make you think about the precariousness of life and how we handle it," he said. "How the character handles it is certainly different than how I might handle it if I were in that position in real life. Every story is a 'what if.' "

This isn't the first time Eastwood has angered some in the disabled community.

In 1996, Diane zum Brunnen visited his hotel in Carmel, Calif., and discovered two violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act. When numerous letters of complaint went unanswered, the disabled woman filed suit. Eastwood ultimately was ordered to bring the hotel into compliance, but not before he'd spent $600,000 fighting the lawsuit.

He later testified before Congress in support of a bill to prevent people from suing under ADA without giving defendants 90 days to come into compliance. It didn't pass.

What is puzzling about some of the protest about the film is that another Oscar-nominated, and critically lauded film this year, the Spanish-language "The Sea Inside," up for best foreign-language film, is primarily about assisted suicide and euthanasia. But it seems to have attracted little controversy.

The film, by director Alejandro Amenabar, tells the real-life story of Ramon Sampedro, a quadriplegic who fought a 30-year battle with the Spanish government for his right to end his own life.

Roth of the Spinal Cord Injury Association said she had not seen that film yet, but intended to.

"The Sea Inside" opens in Austin on Friday.

The activists ripped critics for failing even to acknowledge the "Million Dollar Baby" controversy.

"For most of them, this was not even on their radar screens, whereas any other stereotypical, distorted, inaccurate, screwed-up image of another minority group would be cause at least for comment or debate," said Laura Hershey, a Denver disability-rights activist.

Now, as plans are finalized for Oscar-night protests and other demonstrations, that silence is about to end.

"What I hope — if nothing else — is that this gets people talking and thinking about what's going on in this movie," Hershey said.

This article contains material from the Denver Post.