Actress Busy Phillips and ACLU Team up for Ad Campaign Against Abortion Bans
Photos by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty, Fraser Harrison/Getty Politics News Busy Phillips
After the passing of restrictive abortion laws in Alabama, Georgia and other states, actress Busy Phillips and the American Civil Liberties Union are pairing up for an ad campaign against the bans, per THR.
Phillips got her start on the cult-classic television show Freaks and Geeks and recently ended her late-night talk show Busy Tonight on E! In mid-May the actress penned a tweet revealing she’s had an abortion and containing the hashtag #YouKnowMe. According to the ACLU, the hashtag pulled in around 87,000 uses and stories, and is featured in the advertisement.
1 in 4 women have had an abortion. Many people think they don’t know someone who has, but #youknowme. So let’s do this: if you are also the 1 in 4, let’s share it and start to end the shame. Use #youknowme and share your truth.
— Busy Philipps (@BusyPhilipps) May 15, 2019
Phillips narrates the ad, which reportedly cost the ACLU six figures, and it advocates for a women’s right to choose an abortion. Airing next week, the ad will appear on MSNBC and CNN during The Rachel Maddow Show, All In with Chris Hayes, CNN Tonight with Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper 360.
“You know me. You know someone like me, I had an abortion. It was my decision,” Phillips says in the ad. “Today, it’s my right. But states are trying to take that right away by taking on Roe v. Wade, and Trump is making it possible … The ACLU is fighting to stop abortion bans and restrictions in Alabama and in 13 other states. Join us. Speak up. It’s no time to sit on the sidelines.”
The advertisement comes about a month after the ACLU sued Ohio for its six-week abortion ban, which was signed into law on April 11. The non-profit has filed a lawsuit against the state of Kentucky for its fetal heartbeat bill, and has plans to prepare legal challenges to the newly introduced bans.
“The ACLU is grateful to Busy for using her voice to bring even more attention to this crucial moment in the ongoing fight for our abortion rights,” ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero said in a statement. “The voices of Americans around the country are essential to fight back in this moment. Abortion is a constitutional right, and we will continue to fight for it, in every way we can.”
Watch the full ACLU advertisement featuring Phillips below.