1,425 Demonstrators and Directors Coalition Raises $2.5M to Grant Women’s Access to Abortion While Calling on Studios to Step Up

A coalition of 1,425 viewers and directors raised $2.5 million to help women access abortion services in states where it is currently illegal. The organizers of Hollywood4AbortionAccess hope to raise another $2.5 million to help women across the country, not just in the entertainment industry. The money will be transferred to the national abortion fund network.

Organizers are also urging major studios to adopt plans if they live in states where abortion is now legal and illegal, “to ensure that all workers with urgent reproductive health needs and other production workers can cross state lines quickly.” Abolition of the Supreme Court Karaca vs. Wade.

Among those who supported the campaign on social media were Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, JJ Abrams, Mindy Kaling, Judd Apatow, Damon Lindelof, Jesse Williams and Dana Fox, who used the hashtag @hollywood4abortionaccess.

look at tweets here.

“I am part of a series of demonstrators/creators raising money to help people access abortion,” Rhimes said on the site earlier today. “Help me raise $5 million for this vital job!”

“Join me and #Hollywood4AbortionAccess to help raise $5M for @abortionfunds,” Apatow wrote. “The National Abortion Funds Network is a network of local abortion funds that support people who need access to abortion right now.

The performers and directors are also asking studios to do their part to ensure their employees have access to abortion. Last month, AMC Networks, Amazon Studios, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. They sent letters to Discovery expressing their “serious concern” about the companies’ “lack of certain production protocols”. Business. Protect your workers in anti-abortion states.

The studios said in a joint statement last week:

“Each of our individually designed corporate health plans provides comprehensive health coverage to our eligible employees. As plans and policies change and expand to provide reproductive care and other support that is now needed in countries that restrict or prohibit access to abortion, we independently update our dedicated staff living and working across the country.

“Most scripted television and film production workers are covered by industry health plans jointly administered by union and management representatives through collective bargaining. In partnership with health plan staff from various industries and union trustees of these plans, our administrative trustees have worked quickly to review current health benefits, and many health plans in this industry have already adopted changes to ensure reimbursement of health-related travel expenses. provision of abortion services. . Participants and their dependents who live or work in countries where such services are not legally available. We understand that other health plans in the industry are considering similar changes this month. Plan participants in various industries receive communications directly from plans regarding these changes.

“We welcome the swift action of our industry partners to address this important issue, and we are committed to continuing to consider ways to better serve our people and the workers who support our production.”

“As we continue to monitor this evolving situation, we want to ensure that we are focused on individually supporting the health, safety, well-being and privacy of our relevant employees and those who support our production.” We look forward to working with you to continue creating great content for our audiences around the world.”

But the coalition said that wasn’t enough and gave the studios until the afternoon of Labor Day, September 5, to come up with a more definitive answer.

“Roe v. As a result of the Wade hit,” they said in the same letters sent to the studios today, “We appreciate your mutual concern to protect the health, safety and privacy of employees, but your statement is not an adequate response to ensure workplace safety and prevent the inevitable gender discrimination in our industry.”

“Travel reimbursement, while necessary to provide coverage, is not an adequate remedy for the denial of reproductive health emergencies that are an inevitable consequence of the abortion ban. In states where abortion is criminalised, an employee’s life-saving intervention may be denied in the event of an ectopic pregnancy; A pregnant worker involved in the accident may be X-rayed on the grounds that it may harm the embryo or fetus; And an employee suffering from pregnancy loss may be denied a medically necessary miscarriage. Also, current travel reimbursement does not apply to non-union workers, such as PAs who are not covered by a union health plan.

“Before Labor Day, we are asking (companies) to respond to the following requirements, as there are products that urgently need protection in anti-abortion countries right now:

● All employees and other production employees have ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, placental separation, sudden preeclampsia, etc. a clear, detailed and unified action plan to ensure access to diseases. Employees and other production workers who need emergency reproductive health care can move quickly across state lines to minimize the chance of injury or death.
● Policies and procedures that ensure confidentiality regarding access to abortion.
● Policies and procedures to ensure job security and non-retaliation when a staff member must travel from countries where abortion is criminalized for reproductive health reasons.
● Guaranteed coverage of attorney’s fees, court costs, and fines for any employee or other production worker charged with an abortion-related crime.
● Appointment of reproductive health officer for all productions against abortion.

“Without the above protections, women and people who could only become pregnant will be forced to take an unacceptable level of risk when working in countries hostile to abortion.” This would be gender and pregnancy discrimination because it forces women and people who can become pregnant to make employment decisions that a man who can’t get pregnant would never have to make.

“We are also calling for the creation of a Reproductive Health Task Force to fulfill our commitment to continuing to evaluate ways for workers and workers to support their production.”

“This working group should include at least one C-Suite representative from each company, industry union representatives, if any, and experts from reproductive health and advocacy organizations with expertise in these areas. Members of our coalition are also ready to partner with you in these discussions.

“If the task force is unable to provide concrete solutions to continue production in countries where abortion is illegal and emergency reproductive health services may be routinely denied, the working group should recommend the following to ensure safe and non-discriminatory working conditions: Production will continue in the country. these states
We look forward to working with our colleagues in the film and television industry to respond directly, responsibly and promptly to these immediate threats to the health, safety and human rights of our employees.”