Is abortion still legal in America? No matter
what Roe v. Wade might say, the answer
is not as simple as you think. Dawn Porter
(“Gideon’s Army,” TCFF 2013) takes an infuriating
deep-dive into the efforts in several
states—including Alabama, Mississippi, and
Texas—to restrict access to abortion through
so-called TRAP laws (Targeted Regulations
of Abortion Providers). The imposed litany
of requirements on abortion clinics runs the
gamut from minimum hallway widths to maximum
height of grass on a clinic’s property.
Aimed at making it prohibitively expensive
and difficult for clinics to operate, TRAP laws
have led to the closure of scores of clinics.
Mississippi has one left, and in all of Texas,
there are now just six, making it all but impossible
for ordinary women to obtain an
abortion. This award-winning doc takes us to
the front lines of the fight between legislators
who seek to restrict access to abortions, and
determined health care providers and clinics
who are furiously mowing their lawns, widening
their hallways, and refusing to give up the
battle to protect women’s right to choose.
In
Person: Director Dawn Porter