Issa Rae, Natasha Lyonne, and Hundreds of TV Creators Demand Streamers Defend Abortion Rights

Samantha Bergeson
·6 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

More than 411 television creators, showrunners, and writers collaborated on a letter to top executives at Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Apple, Paramount, Lionsgate, AMC, and more production companies urging specific protocols be in place for pregnant employees throughout the U.S.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year, numerous streamers have issued statements to reimburse employee travel costs to terminate a pregnancy in states that have outlawed abortion. Now, showrunners like Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, Natasha Lyonne, Abbi Jacobson, Ava DuVernay, and Amy Sherman-Palladino are calling on production companies to specifically issue production protectives for employees working in red states.

More from IndieWire

“It is unacceptable to ask any person to choose between their human rights and their employment,” the letter, as reported by Variety, reads. “Currently, any pregnant person working on one of your productions in states that have criminalized abortion does so at great risk.”

The note continued, “We have grave concerns about the lack of specific production protocols in place to protect those at work for Netflix in anti-abortion states…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.”

The letter additionally asks for published policies detailing how companies will subsidize employee travel costs to obtain abortions as well as how employees’ health privacy will be protected with HIPAA. Pregnancy complications like ectopic pregnancies that require medical DNC treatments are also currently banned in certain states under the trigger bans for women’s healthcare procedures.

Furthermore, the letter calls on Netflix and other streamers to stop “all political donations to anti-abortion candidates and political action committees immediately.”

The demand is for production companies to respond within 10 days of July 28, when the letter was first issued.

Netflix previously said in 2019 that the streamer would reconsider filming in Georgia if the state’s “heartbeat” bill took effect. Walt Disney Co. also came under fire earlier this year for financially supporting Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. Disney recently confirmed political ads will be allowed on streamer Hulu to accept pro-choice campaigns.

Read the full letter below, with the particular example sent to Netflix.

We, the undersigned, are 411 show creators, showrunners and head writers who currently work across every network and streaming platform in the industry today, including those controlled by Netflix.

We have grave concerns about the lack of specific production protocols in place to protect those at work for Netflix in anti-abortion states.

It is unacceptable to ask any person to choose between their human rights and their employment. This situation raises basic matters of equality, health, and safety in the workplace. 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. We are committed, as a group, to protecting our fundamental human rights and those of our colleagues.

Currently, any pregnant person working on one of your productions in states that have criminalized abortion does so at great risk. It is important that Netflix understands these risks and has comprehensive solutions in place. The purpose of this letter is to review your current safety protocols and protections on this vital matter to determine whether or not we will continue to work in these high risk environments.

Within ten business days of today we require review of your current abortion safety plan detailing Netflix’s policies and processes to ensure our safety, protect our health and defend our human rights. We expect that the specifics of your current plan address this emergency in full, including but not limited to:

● Published policies and procedures to provide an abortion travel subsidy for employees of your productions including specific information on how the employee’s medical privacy will be safeguarded.

● Protocols outlining the scope of medical care for employees of your productions, including ectopic pregnancies and other pregnancy complications that require medical treatment via abortion while working for Netflix.

● Policy regarding criminal and civil legal protection, including indemnification and defense against liability, for any member of a production who facilitates Netflix’s protocols or provides Netflix’s policy information and guidelines to an employee seeking an abortion.

● Pledge to discontinue all political donations to anti-abortion candidates and political action committees immediately.

As productions are currently in progress in states where abortion is illegal or pending criminalization, your immediate written response is required and expected within ten business days of July 28th, 2022. We also welcome the opportunity to review the written response with your company representatives for additional context should you wish. Our review will be conducted by the undersigned and our legal representatives.

Signed,

Megan Abbott
Diane Ademu-John
Ali Adler
Pamela Adlon
Abby Ajayi
Desiree Akhavan
Zakiyyah Alexander
Bisha K. Ali
Gabrielle Allan
Kayla Alpert
Sofia Alvarez
Jane Anderson
Lucia Aniello
Amy Aniobi
Valerie Armstrong
Nicole Jefferson Asher
Michelle Ashford
Liz Astrof
Meredith Averill
Rachel Axler
Annie Baker
Gemma Baker
Jenna Bans
Carol Barbee
Sara Bareilles
Tanya Barfield
Kate Barnow
Kristen Bartlett
Vanessa Bayer
Nichole Beattie
Monica Beletsky
Lake Bell
Shaz Bennett
Eleanor Bergstein
Julia Bicknell
Jenny Bicks
Jocelyn Bioh
Ashley Nicole Black
Amy Bloom
Rachel Bloom
Andrea Thornton Bolden
Kathryn Borel
Hannah Bos
Rebecca Boss
Yvette Bowser
Christine Boylan
Patricia Breen
Kelli Breslin
Corinne Brinkerhoff
Mara Brock Akil
Aline Brosh McKenna
Jess Brownell
Julia Brownell
Carrie Brownstein
Gemma Burgess
Sarah Burgess
Lila Byock
Jennifer Cacicio
Gloria Calderon Kellett
Wendy Calhoun
Sheila Callaghan
Dana Calvo
Kat Candler
Kay Cannon
Erin Cardillo
Bridget Carpenter
Charise Castro Smith
Ilene Chaiken
Yahlin Chang
Hailey Chavez
Semi Chellas
Cindy Chupack
Zoanne Clack
Eliza Clark
Maisha Closson
Diablo Cody
Anne Cofell Saunders
Leila Cohan
Emily Cook
Akela Cooper
Fernanda Coppel
Elizabeth Craft
Jennifer Crittenden
Aïda Mashaka Croal
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
Whitney Cummings
Alexandra Cunningham
Michelle Dean
Jamie Denbo
Chelsea Devantez
Lydia Diamond
Marnie Dickens
Cara DiPaolo
Katie Dippold
Kiley Donovan
Savannah Dooley
Bash Doran
Karey Dornetto
Caroline Dries
Ariel Dumas
Lena Dunham
Cirocco Dunlap
Ava DuVernay
Laura Eason
Grace Edwards
Kerry Ehrin
Erin Ehrlich
Diane English
Anya Epstein
Maya Erskine
Jane Espenson
Bridget Everett
Sarah Fain
Gina Fattore
Halley Feiffer
Liz Feldman
Nancy Fichman
Hannah Fidell
Debra J. Fisher
Lang Fisher
Anna Fishko
Jennifer Flackett
Liz Flahive
Stephany Folsom
Leah Fong
Claudia Forestieri
Dana Fox
Emily Fox
Anna Fricke
Hannah Friedman
Jena Friedman
Liz Friedman
Maggie Friedman
Kelly Galuska
Sera Gamble
Jessica Gao
Daisy Gardner
Valentina Garza
Leila Gerstein
Melissa James Gibson
Gina Gionfriddo
Karin Gist-Brown
Gracie Glassmeyer
Jessica Goldberg
Sarah Goldfinger
Emily Gordon
Philippa Goslett
Susannah Grant
Tash Gray
Misha Green
Kathy Greenberg
Sarah Gubbins
Lauren Gussis
Jenny Hagel
Barbara Hall
Katori Hall
Jenny Han
Lisa Hanawalt
Chelsea Handler
Liz Hannah
Alma Har’el
Amy B. Harris
Dee Harris-Lawrence
Becky Hartman Edwards
Leslye Headland
Sian Heder
Eileen Heisler
Liz Heldens
DeAnn Heline
Cody Heller
Emily Heller
Felicia D. Henderson
Christal Henry
Tara Herrmann
Sara Hess
Regina Hicks
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
Winnie Holzman
A.M. Homes
Karen Leigh Hopkins
Shannon M. Houston
Melinda Hsu Taylor
Soo Hugh
Darlene Hunt
Lauren Iungerich
Our Lady J
Abbi Jacobson
Casey Johnson
Erika L. Johnson
Joanna Johnson
Kathleen Jordan
Alexa Junge
Mindy Kaling
Laeta Kalogridis
Angela Kang
Kourtney Kang
Jenn Kao
Marta Kauffman
Zoe Kazan
Courtney A. Kemp
Nahnatchka Khan
Callie Khouri
Claire Kiechel
Marlene King
Michelle King
Corinne Kingsbury
Laura Kittrell
Julie Klausner
Jenny Klein
Jessi Klein
Erica Shelton Kodish
Jenji Kohan
Anna Konkle
Jenni Konner
Liz Kruger
Sarah Kucserka
Bridget Kyle
Stephanie Laing
Noga Landau
Amanda Lasher
Sheila Lawrence
Janet Leahy
Christina Lee
Young Jean Lee
Lauren LeFranc
Kasi Lemmons
Jennifer Levin
Chris Levinson
Debbie Liebling
Adele Lim
Erica Lipez
Amy Lippman
Crystal Liu
Kari Lizer
Attica Locke
Melissa London Hilfers
Rachel Caris Love
Jenny Lumet
Ashley Lyle
Natasha Lyonne
Monica Macer
Marguerite MacIntyre
Carina Adly MacKenzie
Jhoni Marchinko
Meg Marinis
Julie Martin
Felischa Marye
Britt Matt
Vanessa McCarthy
Abby McEnany
Shauna McGarry
Colleen McGuinness
Alexandra McNally
Carol Mendelsohn
Carly Mensch
Wendy Mericle
Elizabeth Meriwether
Erica Messer
Molly Smith Metzler
Allison Miller
Rina Mimoun
Arika Lisanne Mittman
Becky Mode
Raamla Mohamed
Lizzie Molyneux
Wendy Molyneux
Jaclyn Moore
Lauren Morelli
LaToya Morgan
Dominique Morisseau
Maggie Mull
Michele Mulroney
Janine Nabers
Margaret Nagle
Tia Napolitano
Daniele Nathanson
Jessie Nelson
Kristin Newman
Lynn Nottage
Marti Noxon
Alissa Nutting
Jami O’Brien
Jessica O’Toole
Dr. Sonya Odamtten
Nkechi Okoro Carroll
Silvia Olivas
Tracy Oliver
Stacy Osei-Kuffour
Monica Owusu-Breen
Jan Oxenberg
Carolina Paiz
Michelle Paradise
Sallie Patrick
Ilana Peña
KC Perry
JJ Philbin
Julie Plec
Daria Polatin
Tracy Poust
Channing Powell
Kate Purdy
Jessica Queller
Issa Rae
Lisa Randolph
Ellen Rapoport
Robia Rashid
Joan Rater
Jacquelyn Reingold
Nicki Renna
Dara Resnik
Shonda Rhimes
Katie Rich
Erica Rivinoja
Katie Robbins
Kate Robin
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Marquita Robinson
Dailyn Rodriguez
Jessie Rosen
Melissa Rosenberg
Kim Rosenstock
Sharyn Rothstein
Julie Rottenberg
Amber Ruffin
Marja-Lewis Ryan
Tami Sagher
Erica Saleh
Danielle Sanchez-Witzel
Tanya Saracho
Stephanie Savage
Lorene Scafaria
Beth Schacter
Jac Schaeffer
Robin Schiff
Holly Schlesinger
Sarah Schneider
Ali Schouten-Seeks
Heidi Schreck
Amy Schumer
Jennifer Schuur
Beth Schwartz
Nell Scovell
Sarah Gertrude Shapiro
Frankie Shaw
Ranada Shepard
Janine Sherman Barrois
Amy Sherman-Palladino
April Shih
Keto Shimizu
Rachel Shukert
Katie Silberman
Emily Silver
Allison Silverman
Randi Mayem Singer
Francesca Sloane
Alena Smith
Nora Smith
Nicole Snyder
Jennie Snyder Urman
Holly Sorensen
Rachel Specter
Nichelle Tramble Spellman
Emily Spivey
Caissie St. Onge
Jen Statsky
KJ Steinberg
Dana Stevens
Christy Stratton
Veena Sud
Robin Swicord
Maurissa Tancharoen
Desta Tedros Reff
Sierra Teller Ornelas
Robin Thede
Betsy Thomas
Sarah Thompson
Merritt Tierce
Liz Tigelaar
Stacy Traub
Sarah Treem
Liz Tuccillo
Raelle Tucker
Karyn Usher
Noelle Valdivia
Krista Vernoff
Lilly Wachowski
Lena Waithe
Ayelet Waldman
Dahvi Waller
Lulu Wang
Michaela Watkins
Sarah Watson
Audrey Wauchope
Katie Wech
Annie Weisman
Hilary Weisman Graham
Lizzy Weiss
Gina Welch
Lindy West
Diana Whitten
Tracey Wigfield
Tracey Scott
Wilson Anna Winger
Nancy Won
Carly Wray
Wei-Ning Yu
Keisha Zollar
Lilla Zuckerman
Nora Zuckerman
Elisa Zuritsky
Lisa Zwerling

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.