Hollywood Activists Say Studios Are Stepping Up To Ensure Abortion Access To All Employees

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Hollywood’s major studios are stepping up to ensure that employees who work in states where abortions are illegal can have access to abortions, according to a statement released today by a coalition of nearly 1,500 showrunners and directors.Last month, the coalition, which includes Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, JJ Abrams, Mindy Kaling and Judd Apatow, called on nine of the major studios to adopt plans to “guarantee that all employees and other production workers in need of emergency reproductive healthcare can be transported expeditiously across state lines” if they live in states where abortions are now illegal in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v.

Wade.Coalition Of 1,425 Showrunners & Directors Raises $2.5M To Help Women Gain Access To Abortions While Calling On Studios To Step UpThey gave the companies – Amazon, AMC, Apple TV+, CBS/Paramount, Disney, Lionsgate, NBCU, Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery – until Labor Day to come up with a definitive response.In a statement Friday, organizers said:“Our Coalition began this effort to ensure that the studios stepped up to protect women and people who can get pregnant who work on productions in states where abortion is now illegal and being criminalized.“While there is still much work to be done, we can share that all nine studios we contacted (Amazon, AMC, Apple TV+, CBS/Paramount, Disney, Lionsgate, NBCU, Netflix and Warner Brothers Discovery) are engaging directly and individually with us to address the immediate need for safety, privacy and legal protections for their employees.“A few companies are already exploring ways to implement a 24-hour Reproductive Health Safety Hotline for productions in abortion-hostile states.