The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Protect workers’ abortion rights, women in film, TV industry urge
More than 400 female Hollywood producers and showrunners have signed a letter outlining demands that major studios working in states that ban or severely restrict abortion, including Georgia, provide proper protections for female employees who become pregnant.
Variety broke the story, publishing a copy of the letter sent specifically to Netflix. The publication said comparable letters were sent to other studios including Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Universal and Apple. All of these studios create TV shows and movies in Georgia, where a “heartbeat” abortion law was recently enacted that restricts nearly all abortions after six weeks.
“We have grave concerns about the lack of specific production protocols in place to protect those at work for Netflix in anti-abortion states,” the letter said. “It is unacceptable to ask any person to choose between their human rights and their employment. Many of us would not have the careers and families we have today if we had not been granted the freedom to choose what was best for ourselves.”
Georgia is currently the third most popular state for film and TV, behind only New York and California, where there are minimal abortion restrictions.
The letter seeks specific plans, if any, for companies to subsidize travel for employees who need to get an abortion in a different state and how they might help women with pregnancy
complications and ectopic pregnancies. They also want legal protection in states that might try to criminalize people who aid and abet others seeking an abortion. And they are asking studios to stop donating to anti-abortion politicians and political action committees.
Among the notable names who signed the letter include “Insecure” star and producer Issa Rae, “Bridgerton” and “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes, and “Gilmore Girls” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” showrunner Amy Sherman Palladino. Others include Lake Bell, Natasha Lyonne, Sara Bareilles, Vanessa Bayer, Rachel Bloom, Whitney Cummings, Amber Ruffin, Amy Schumer, Lena Dunham, Chelsea Handler and Mindy Kaling.
Several of the women who signed the letter have produced shows in Georgia, including Mara Brock Alil (“The Game,” “Being Mary Jane”), Westminster Schools alum Sallie Patrick (”Dynasty”), Ava DuVernay (”Naomi,” “DMZ”), Lena Waithe (“Twenties”), Julie Plec (“Vampire Diaries,” “Legacies,” “The Originals”)
and Angela Kang (“The Walking Dead”).
In 2019, a few actors led by Alyssa Milano expressed displeasure over Georgia’s anti-abortion law, which Gov. Brian Kemp signed. Milano even publicly called for a boycott of the state. Only a handful of smaller production companies echoed her sentiment. The controversy died down when the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled that the bill was unconstitutional. The state appealed the ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which didn’t make its decision to allow the bill to go into effect until after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
So far, none of the major production companies, who have taken full advantage of Georgia’s generous tax credits over the past 14 years, have made any public statements regarding the state’s abortion law or any actions they might take related to it.
The letter requests a response within 10 business days but does not say what the producers will do if they are not satisfied with how the studios handle these issues.