“Women are going to have abortions — it’s just that they’re not going to be safe and legal.” So begins the terrifying trailer for Dawn Porter’s timely new documentary “Trapped.”
The film takes its name from the hundreds of “TRAP” (targeted regulation of abortion providers) laws that have been passed by conservative state legislatures — the constitutionality of which will be determined by a landmark Supreme Court case later this year.
“These rules don’t add anything to the safety of women,” says one of the doc’s interviewees. “They chop away piecemeal at reproductive rights.”
“Trapped” secured a distribution deal last week. The film will have a theatrical release and will also be available to watch on the small screen via PBS’s “Independent Lens.”
The film won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking when it made its world premiere at Sundance last month.
Former Emmy nominee Porter told Women and Hollywood that she wants “Trapped” to show audiences “that they cannot be complacent.” She added, “I love the line from one of the clinic owners, who says something to the effect of, ‘No one thinks they are going to need an abortion.’ I want people to think about what they would do if the clinics around them were closed.”
You can catch the New York premiere of “Trapped” at the Athena Film Festival on Thursday, February 18. A panel discussion with Porter will follow the screening.
