PERSONHOOD: POLICING PREGNANT WOMEN IN AMERICA. The documentary follows the story of Tammy Loertscher, a rural Wisconsin woman who was forcibly detained after revealing her history of depression and occasional drug use during a prenatal appointment. Her fetus was given an attorney, while the courts denied Loertscher her constitutional rights and sent her to jail.
This timely documentary tracks the rise of the “fetal personhood” movement and reveals a growing system of laws in America that target and criminalize pregnant people – especially lower income women and women of color. At the intersection of the erosion of women’s rights, the war on drugs, and mass incarceration, Loertscher’s experience reveals the dangerous ripple effects of anti-choice policies on women who have no intention of ending their pregnancies.
VOD Release: January 19, 2021
Distribution Company: 1091 Pictures
Directed by: Jo Ardinger
Written by: Jo Ardinger, Nils Cowan
Starring: Tamara Loertscher, Cherisse Scott, Sara Ainsworth
Produced by: Jo Ardinger, Rosalie Miller
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/personhooddoc/
Website: http://personhoodmovie.com/
Synopsis: Through the eyes of a young mother who was forcibly detained while pregnant and denied her constitutional rights, PERSONHOOD reframes the abortion debate to encompass the growing system of laws that criminalize and police pregnant people.