Trapped

Filmmaker Dawn Porter's PBS-aired Independent Lens documentary provides an illuminating, if also dispiriting look at TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws. Since 2010, there have been 250 laws passed that restrict abortion clinics and providers and are clearly intended to curtail abortion. Porter profiles three clinics in Alabama, with a special focus on Tuscaloosa's West Alabama Women's Center. Unable to comply with new restrictions, the center suspends operations, directing clients to the other two clinics in a state with only five doctors who perform abortions. Gloria Gray, owner of the Tuscaloosa center, states, "Closing the clinics is not going to stop abortions. It's just that they are not going to be safe and legal." She fears that she may not be able to reopen, so she sues the Alabama Department of Public Health. Due to clinic closures in Texas and other states, Alabama already has enough trouble meeting a demand that includes patients from outside its borders. One clinic has to turn away a 13-year-old rape victim when they can't find an anesthesiologist in time. Although June Ayers has been able to keep her Montgomery clinic Reproductive Health Services open since 1985, she has to be vigilant, particularly as some of the regulations don't even make sense. The other clinic, Alabama's Women's Center, LLC, has had to move due to restrictions, but owner Dr. Dalton Johnson vows to do what it takes to stay open. Porter ends on a positive note with several victories, most due to the efforts of The Center for Reproductive Rights, but more legal battles surely await. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)