Hollywood is reacting with predictable fury over fears that the Supreme Court may possibly overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision. When Justice Samuel Alito’s draft decision was leaked and published in Politico this week, reactions from both sides of the ideological spectrum were fast and furious. It’s clear, however, that many in the film industry are loath to accept the consequences of such a reversal.
Openly gay actor George Takei of Star Trek fame was among the first to express his rage, tweeting that the “extremist, religious, radical right must be stopped.” He added, “Those motherf*****s really did it. First they came for Black voters, then they targeted LGBTQ+ families. Now, women of America, they’re overruling Roe v. Wade. We have to unite and strike back. Take to the streets. Overwhelm them at the ballot box. They have gone too damn far.”
Takei singled out the three Trump-appointed justices (Gorsuch, Cavanaugh, and Barrett) for special criticism, adding that “Those justices lied in their confirmation hearings about Roe being settled law. That is grounds to impeach them, or at least to expand the court to counter the effect of their blatant and intentional deception.”
In her reaction to the news, Kathy Griffin shared a picture of Hillary Clinton as she tweeted: “Well I’d love to be posting about the met gala but this is the only attendee I care about. President Hillary Clinton never would’ve let Roe be overturned.”
The former First Lady, who lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential election, responded to Griffin’s message by a tweet of her own: “Not surprising. But still outrageous. This decision is a direct assault on the dignity, rights, & lives of women, not to mention decades of settled law. It will kill and subjugate women even as a vast majority of Americans think abortion should be legal. What an utter disgrace.”
In expressing her disdain for the potential ruling, Ever Carradine quoted a phrase from The Handmaid’s Tale in which she appears: “Under His Eye.” (This is a TV series depicting life in a totalitarian society where women’s lives are controlled by the government.) “I’m already on this show. I don’t want to live it,” she said. “Trust women. Vote,” Carradine declared. “Trust women trust women trust women. And vote. And trust women to make decisions about their bodies…Quoting my cousin here ‘Just because you have a uterus does not mean that the state gains ownership over you when you become pregnant.'”
Author Don Winslow was equally vehement in his response, tweeting: “In light of the days tragic events with SCOTUS and #RoeVsWade please BLOCK every person who told you to calm down, not to be so negative or alarming and that everything was going to be okay. We are so far from F okay we would need a map to get back. Get angry. Stay angry. Vote!”
“Get your Boots off our wombs,” tweeted Rosanna Arquette, who added: “President Biden must add NON COMPRISED [sic] Judges to SCOTUS.”
Although the Supreme Court has vowed to investigate the leak, it is unclear whether anyone can be effectively prosecuted under federal law, since the material in the draft decision is not considered classified information.
Just under 630,000 abortions were performed in the United States in 2019, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control. Since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, the number has been declining due to greater access to contraceptives and personal decisions by women about their own reproductive health.