Women in Film, the largest organization supporting equity for women in the entertainment industry on all levels, has compiled a list of abortion resources for workers in the field that will regularly be updated. Its CEO, Kirsten Schaffer, said in an interview with TheWrap that WIF has now turned its attention to people who live in states with so-called trigger bans in effect, helping to support travel costs associated with obtaining safe and legal abortions.
“We’re focused right now on ensuring that women and people who can get pregnant who are working in states that are outlawing or have outlawed abortion still have access to safe and legal abortion,” Schaffer said, “which in most cases means leaving the state, and so we’ve provided a list of resources both a list of companies who are either through their health insurance or otherwise providing travel reimbursement out of state, and then also abortion funds.”
Per the webpage, companies such as Amazon, Apple, Condé Nast, Disney and others are subsidizing or covering medical and travel costs associated with workers who are looking to access vital reproductive care.
“We’re turning our collective rage into action, providing the below, regularly updated list of abortion resources offered by employers for those working in the entertainment industry,” WIF’s Abortion Healthcare & Resources tab reads. “If your company is offering travel support for healthcare or other abortion related-benefits, please let us know.” (People can email info@wif.org for additional information.)
The site also includes additional guidelines on how to seek localized care through abortion funds across the nation, as well as organizations that provide educational and infrastructural resources for those who need them.
In addition to donating and voting for pro-abortion candidates, Schaffer added that Hollywood has a vital role to play in “chang[ing] the narrative” surrounding how we talk about abortion health care. “Storytelling can be leveraged to normalize conversations about abortions, miscarriages, and periods … because normalizing it is part of how we keep it safe and legal,” she said, adding that these topics are still stigmatized as “embarrassing and shameful” to discuss.
WIF’s efforts come amid a plethora of organizing in Hollywood by major players and studios, who also pledged to support their workers through reimbursing travel expenses for those who need to seek abortions across state lines. Hollywood guilds, like SAG-AFTRA and IATSE, have also condemned the Supreme Court reversal.
