Guest Column: What Hollywood Can Do After the Reversal of Roe v. Wade

We knew that Roe v. Wade was fragile. When Tara clerked on the Supreme Court nearly 18 years ago, it was clear that, for the most conservative Justices and law clerks, Roe was their tipping point. The ire with which it was viewed was palpable, down to apocryphal stories of law clerks who would go each morning up to the Supreme Court law library, just to throw volume 410 of the Supreme Court Reporter — the volume containing the Roe decision — on the floor. That was the level of detestation and dedication to overturning Roe.

As a lawyer (Tara) and a political advisor (Hannah), we have spent the last week talking to clients and friends about the Dobbs decision — which overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24 — and the only question on anyone’s mind is: “What now?”

Before we dive in on reproductive rights and bodily autonomy for all, let’s be clear about two critical things.

First, this is not the last fundamental right that this Court is likely to take away. The Supreme Court’s reasoning applied to Dobbs, which directly challenges the concept of personal liberty founded in the 14th Amendment, could also be applied by this Court to same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, contraception and other deeply personal decisions about how we live our private lives. We should be prepared for the very real possibility that the right to choose whom we can marry could similarly be revoked, and that access to contraception could be as restricted as abortion.

Second, this court is wildly out of step with the American people. A majority of the public believe that decisions about pregnancy are deeply personal and should not be made by politicians seeking power and control over women’s bodies. These are the same politicians gerrymandering to pick their own voters and questioning the legitimate outcome of our elections. The Supreme Court has already gutted the Voting Rights Act and — maybe most troubling of all — just announced that it will hear Moore v. Harper, a North Carolina case that could allow state legislatures to exert unprecedented control over federal election rules and congressional redistricting, even if their actions were to violate the state constitution, the will of the people, or the principle of “free and fair elections.” Our Democracy is unraveling before our eyes and the loss of our independent judiciary should scare us all.

We don’t say this to evoke more fear — or worse, apathy — but to remind our community of artists, activists, global companies and far-reaching enterprises that the fight for reproductive rights, just like the fight for our Democracy, is a long but essential one. Stay in it with us until we’ve restored the fundamental human right to bodily autonomy for every person in this country — a reality we must believe is possible.

Hollywood has taken incredible action over the last week — supporting abortion funds and reproductive rights, and justice groups across the nation, pledging travel funds for those seeking abortions from other states, and funding pro-choice candidates for political office. Groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights, Plan C and the National Network of Abortion Funds have received necessary and overdue support and attention. In the face of a national public health crisis, we will need these groups, and many more, to thrive as our society finally shines a light on the broken systems that got us here and aligns to create a modern-day network of abortion access.

The candidates for Democratic governor in swing states and states with existing abortion laws on the books that are most up for debate — especially Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Kansas and Georgia — have been lifted up as the powerful defenders and keepers of reproductive rights that we will need them to be if they can get elected this November. But one week of action and outrage is not going to create long-term change in the face of unprecedented legal, political and medical chaos that has erupted since Roe was overturned.

It took nearly 50 years for the anti-choice movement to take away our reproductive rights, and it could take 50 years to get them back. To do that, we need a total paradigm shift.

Here is how we recommend you help:

Do everything you can for pro-choice candidates running for every position on the ballot, but especially governors, state legislators, members of Congress, state attorneys general, elected judges and elected prosecutors, especially in abortion battleground states. Elections have consequences and these people hold real power over our lives.

Change the narrative. Hollywood has the power to show people what is possible, to create hope, to tell new kinds of stories, to offer comfort and care, and to empower people in their own self-determination. We have the power to shift the paradigm about what is possible and how we get there. We have more power than we know, and we must use that power now.

When you create a film or television series, when you write a novel or a play, when you create content, you shape our culture. Let’s tell real stories of real people needing, wanting and having abortions (including those from miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies). Let’s tell empowering and uplifting stories of the people — men and women, nonbinary and otherwise — whose lives have been transformed or saved by having access to reproductive freedoms. Let’s integrate concepts like “Advance Provision” — abortion pills in your medicine cabinet — and consistent, affordable pregnancy testing for all into our storylines. Let’s tell people about the doctors, investors, women-owned telehealth companies, women-led community health organizations and the inspiring abortion networks willing to push the envelope in the name of health equity. Lets play by a new set of rules and destigmatize what’s sacred, complex, hard and wonderful about our reproductive lives.

We hope you will stay with us in this fight in the days, months and decades to come. We hope you will continue to believe in and fight for our democracy. We hope you will join us in pushing those who are already in power to fight for our rights and our freedom — including codifying Roe by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act or declaring a national public health emergency. We hope you will support pro-choice candidates and work to change the narrative. Let’s pick volume 410 up off the floor and restore hope for the millions of people whose lives are forever impacted by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Tara Kole is a founding partner at Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole, an entertainment law firm, a lecturer at Harvard Law School, and a former clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court. Hannah Linkenhoker is a political strategist and philanthropic advisor who currently serves as chief engagement officer at Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole. Hannah is co-founder of the L.A. Women’s Collective, a political action committee that works to bring more women into political power and key elected positions across the country.