Movie About Landmark Roe v. Wade Abortion Ruling Coming Soon

From producers Alison Owen (Suffragette) and Debra Hayward (Love Actually, Atonement), Monumental Pictures is set to bring the landmark Roe V. Wade abortion ruling to the screen. The 1973 ruling gave every woman in the United States the right to have an abortion—a right that recently has come under fire by the new GOP administration.

The production company has brought in Oscar-nominated writer Jen Majka (The Bigger Picture) to tell the story of Sarah Weddington, the 26-year-old Texas lawyer who fought for the right to abortion all the way to the Supreme Court. The case was filed on behalf of Norma McCorvey, aka “Jane Roe,” who challenged a Texas law that stated women could only have an abortion if their life was at terminal risk. The ruling is considered to be a major turning point in the fight for women’s rights and the way in which lawmakers discuss abortion. “Roe vs. Wade reshaped the universal conversation on abortion,” Hayward told Deadline. “The time to revisit its history has never felt more apt, and we’re thrilled to be undertaking the journey along with Jen.”

Even though Roe v. Wade was omre than 40 years ago, it certainly feels timely. Trump and his administration have taken a firmly anti-choice stance, and with Trump’s recent conservative Supreme Court nominee, the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned feels horrifyingly real. “It is one that is close to our hearts and hugely important, particularly in the extraordinary times in which we are living,” said Owen to Deadline. “ Women’s reproductive freedom is just as contested now as it was before this case and this is a story that everyone should know.” “Extraordinary times” is one way to put it.

There’s no word yet as to the film’s cast or release date, but we did find there actually already exists a Roe v. Wade movie. It was a 1989 television film starring Holly Hunter, and it seems like a bit of a rarity—all we could find of it is a VHS tape for nearly $40 on Amazon. Maybe until we get a release date for the new Roe v. Wade movie, perhaps we should all just go through the films on Paste’s “20 Radical Films to Watch in the Age of Trump.”