Leading Actresses Tell Women’s Stories About Abortion

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  • Source: www.youtube.com / Via: www.youtube.com

  • A group of well-known actresses used their voices to tell other women’s deeply personal stories about abortion in a series of videos from the Center for Reproductive Rights.

    The Draw the Line campaign features “Hunger Games” star Elizabeth Banks, Amy Brenneman, Mercedes Mason, Mary McCormack, “Orange is the New Black” star Dascha Polanco, “Parks and Recreation” star Retta and Bellamy Young, each reading an account of one of the most important decisions a woman can make.

    In Polanco’s monologue, she tells the story of Kayleigh, a woman in Texas who chose to have an abortion because she was a full-time student with a full-time job, and knew she couldn’t raise a child with the care it deserved:

    “I made the best decision possible for me – I scheduled an abortion. But in Texas, once I had made my decision, there were a whole bunch of obstacles that others put in my way. I am a woman who trusts her own opinions. I was not about to let anyone bully me. I was surprised to find that the process actually made me feel braver.”

    Other powerful stories include a woman leaving her abusive boyfriend only to discover she was pregnant, a woman learning her fetus had severe genetic defects, and a woman who went into premature labor at 15 weeks, was denied an abortion at the hospital and had to labor for 17 painful hours to deliver a baby that died moments later.

    President and CEO Nancy Northup said this in a statement:

    The stories highlighted by these incredible actresses tell the important and moving story of women who face many obstacles to access to their constitutionally protected right to an abortion. As we prepare to argue for women’s access to safe, legal abortion services before the U.S. Supreme Court, we need to make it clear to politicians exactly what’s at stake when they attack our reproductive freedom and fundamental rights.

    The monologues were released ahead of the Supreme Court oral arguments coming up in March about restrictions placed on abortion clinics in Texas, and also observe the 43rd anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. Watch the full series here.

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