BROADCASTS.com

Ben Reiser talks to Jo Ardinger, Rosalie Miller And Samantha Lee about PERSONHOOD.\n\nPassed in 1997, Wisconsin\u2019s \u201cUnborn Child Protection Act\u201d protects a fetus in the event of substance or alcohol abuse by the parent. When Tammy Loertscher discovered she was pregnant, she decided to disclose her past drug use with her doctor. This alarming, exhaustively researched documentary tells the story of the unending nightmare that followed, in which the state assigned an attorney to her fetus and stripped Tammy of her constitutional rights. With an unwavering eye, Jo Ardinger\u2019s directorial debut bears witness to outrages on both a local and national level, from the breaching of doctor-patient confidentiality to the criminalization of lower income women. When justice becomes a privilege rather than a right, this film asks, do pregnant women lose their personhood? 2019 Doc NYC. (FQ)