The 2016 documentary Trapped, directed by Dawn Porter, examines contemporary legislative action regarding abortion, particularly how laws passed on the state level impact clinics, providers, and patients in those states. Since 2010, over 250 laws that restrict abortion clinics and their doctors have been passed by state legislatures in America. These laws, dubbed TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws by reproductive rights advocates featured in the film, do not apply to doctors in general, but rather, intentionally inhibit the functioning of abortion care providers. Trapped promotes pro-choice politics, working to garner support for changing these laws and preventing the passage of similar ones by illustrating the real-world
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Throughout the film, several similar narratives play out, such as the closure of many clinics in Texas after the passing of Texas HB2, and Mississippi’s lone clinic advising women that having an abortion can increase their risk for breast cancer, an assertion which which has no scientific evidence but which is nevertheless mandated by the legislature. Within the film coverage of clinics, individual patients tell their stories and receive services. These stories are interspersed throughout the film with historical context and examples of the legal struggles against TRAP laws. Historical news clips announcing the decision to legalize abortion through Roe v. Wade contrast contemporary clips detailing legislative action limiting abortion. In order to further contextualize the current political climate, filmmakers include footage from Wendy Davis’s 13 hour filibuster to prevent the passage of anti-abortion legislation (a nearly identical version of which later passed in a special session called by Rick Perry) and the filmmakers follow the legal action of multiple clinics to reverse decisions that would lead to their closure. Overall Trapped follows the stories of individual clinics, doctors, and teams of lawyers in the fight to preserve abortion
Throughout the film, several similar narratives play out, such as the closure of many clinics in Texas after the passing of Texas HB2, and Mississippi’s lone clinic advising women that having an abortion can increase their risk for breast cancer, an assertion which which has no scientific evidence but which is nevertheless mandated by the legislature. Within the film coverage of clinics, individual patients tell their stories and receive services. These stories are interspersed throughout the film with historical context and examples of the legal struggles against TRAP laws. Historical news clips announcing the decision to legalize abortion through Roe v. Wade contrast contemporary clips detailing legislative action limiting abortion. In order to further contextualize the current political climate, filmmakers include footage from Wendy Davis’s 13 hour filibuster to prevent the passage of anti-abortion legislation (a nearly identical version of which later passed in a special session called by Rick Perry) and the filmmakers follow the legal action of multiple clinics to reverse decisions that would lead to their closure. Overall Trapped follows the stories of individual clinics, doctors, and teams of lawyers in the fight to preserve abortion