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

More than 411 TV creators, showrunners and writers have collaborated on a letter to senior executives at Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Apple, Paramount, Lionsgate, AMC and other production companies requesting specific protocols for pregnant employees in the United States

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year, many streamers released statements to reimburse employee travel expenses to terminate a pregnancy in states that have banned abortion. Now, showrunners like Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, Natasha Lyonne, Abbi Jacobson, Ava DuVernay and Amy Sherman-Palladino are asking production companies to specifically issue production protections to employees working in red states.

“Asking anyone to choose between their human rights and their job is unacceptable,” the letter reads, as reported by Variety. "Currently, anyone who is pregnant working on one of your productions in states that have criminalized abortion does so at great risk."

The memo continues: "We are very concerned about the lack of specific production protocols in place to protect people who work for Netflix in anti-abortion states...Many of us would not have the careers and the families we have today if we had we didn't have the freedom to choose what was best for ourselves."

The letter further calls for published policies detailing how companies will subsidize employee travel costs to obtain abortions, as well as how employee health confidentiality will be protected under HIPAA. Pregnancy complications like ectopic pregnancies that require DNC medical treatments are also currently prohibited in some states under the Initiation Bans for Women's Healthcare Procedures.

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

Production companies are asked to respond within 10 days of July 28, when the letter was first published.

Netflix previously said in 2019 that the streamer would reconsider filming in Georgia if the state's "heartbeat" bill takes effect. Walt Disney Co. also came under fire earlier this year for financially supporting Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law. Disney recently confirmed that political ads will be allowed on the Hulu streamer 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 editors currently working across all industry networks and streaming platforms, including those controlled by Netflix.

We are very concerned about the lack of specific production protocols in place to protect people working for Netflix in anti-abortion states.

It is unacceptable to ask anyone to choose between their human rights and their job. This situation raises fundamental issues of equality, health and safety at work. Many of us wouldn't have the careers and families we have today if we hadn't had the freedom to choose what was best for us. We are committed, as a group, to protecting our fundamental human rights and those of our colleagues.

Currently, anyone who is pregnant 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 implements comprehensive solutions. The purpose of this letter is to review your current security protocols and safeguards on this vital issue to determine if...