Six years ago, Emmy-winning and Tony-nominated actress Martha Plimpton co-founded A is For, a non-profit dedicated to advancing women’s reproductive rights and ending the stigma against abortion care. She and a few of her friends started the organization as a response to the ever-escalating legislative attacks on access to safe reproductive health care, and as a way to change the way we talk about the subject. Plimpton herself had an abortion at age 19, so this issue was a particularly personal one for her.
A is For’s annual benefit is called “Broadway Acts for Women,” a night of celebrity karaoke where Broadway performers who support the cause can show up to sing something they’ve never rehearsed. The event has raised a significant amount of money for some of the organization’s beneficiaries, and this year was no exception. The September 30th event included stars such as Sara Bareilles, Deborah Cox, Ariana DeBose, Bonnie Milligan, Judy Kuhn, Lesli Margherita, Rashida Olayiwola, and Brandon Victor Dixon. Plimpton and Cecily Strong of “SNL” hosted the night.
“Younger” and “The Blacklist” are among Plimpton’s more recent credits. She won an Emmy in 2012 for her guest turn in “The Good Wife.”
We recently spoke with Plimpton about her work with A is For, this year’s “Broadway Acts for Women” event, and how to get involved in the fight for reproductive rights.
Visit A is For’s website to find out more about the org or to donate.
W&H: How did A is For start and why did you choose abortion rights as your main issue?
MP: It’s been my lifelong belief that abortion is an inherent human right and that belief has never left me. I was raised by a feminist and generations of independent, self-made women. I’ve always known that bodily autonomy is pretty much number one if you want to consider yourself a free citizen.
So, even before my own abortion, I knew it was the right thing. Then in my early-to-late-20s, I started speaking out with Planned Parenthood at their rallies and I became a member of their Board of Advocates. I visited Capitol Hill with them, as well as with the Center for Reproductive Rights.
With the new heightened restrictions that came about in the 2010 midterms, when the House was taken over by these Tea Party radical zealots, it became more clear that my individual work needed to be stepped up. That’s why two friends of mine and I started As is For in 2012 when the birth control [portion of] ACA [Affordable Care Act] was being debated on Capitol Hill.
W&H: Then in 2015 you established “Broadway Acts for Women,” which has raised over $200,000 to date, and the most recent one, “Broadway Acts for Women: A Star-Studded Night of Karaoke and Comedy,” just took place on September 30.
MP: Yes, Sara Bareilles so generously matched not only our door proceeds but also our auction proceeds at that event. We’re still crunching the numbers, but it looks like we raised around $160,000 that night, so we’ve raised a lot more now.
W&H: You opened the benefit singing the song, “Chained to the Rhythm” by Katy Perry, with an all-female band featuring drummer Allison Miller from “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Why did you choose that song?
MP: I like to open the show singing something I can’t possibly sound good doing so that the rest of the performers feel at ease, considering that they don’t know what they are going to sing. It’s usually Katy Perry. Last year it was Lady Gaga.
From left to right: Plimpton, Deborah Cox, Sara Bareilles, and Cecily Strong at the recent “Broadway Acts for Women.” Photo credit: Dianna Bush.
W&H: Who were some of the partners that joined forces with your organization this year?
MP: The National Network of Abortion Funds, which is just what it says in the name. Access Reproductive Care Southeast, which is a network of six states in the southeast that provides abortion funds for women in those states. The National Advocates for Pregnant Women, which is a legal advocacy group that works to protect pregnant women’s rights — either their right to access abortion or if they’re being unjustly persecuted or harassed in some way, or experiencing so-called violations of fetal personhood, which is essentially designed to criminalize miscarriage or abortion.
We are extremely dedicated and focused on reproductive justice so we were really, really proud to be able to share some of our proceeds with them.
W&H: Have movements like #MeToo, #TimesUp, and the recent battle over the Supreme Court nomination aided in pushing the reproductive rights movement along?
MP: I don’t know about that, but I do know that the vibe in the room [at the benefit] was one of people who are just angry, sad, exhausted, and really in a need of a way to turn their anger and sadness into action. There was also a feeling of inclusion, closeness, and camaraderie with each other in the room. These are really difficult times, and everyone needs to find a reason to feel rejuvenated in this struggle. These kinds of attacks are designed to wear us down.
With [Brett] Kavanaugh particularly, it’s becoming more and more clear that [the reversal of] Roe v. Wade is, for all intents and purposes, in effect here already. The fact is that Planned Parenthood v. Casey [a 1992 landmark Supreme Court case] effectively rolled back the federal protections that Roe v. Wade was meant to ensure. It’s not like abortion was available in this country like it was [after] Roe was decided. I think those kinds of details kind of get lost because people think it’s all about Roe. If it’s all about Roe, then Kavanaugh will be the final nail in the coffin.
W&H: How can people get involved with A is For?
MP: You can donate to our organization. We’re always open to hearing stories, which are basically stories of clinic escorts and their experiences on the front lines protecting patients going in for medical care from harassment and violence and the kind of horrendous treatment they get. Those stories are really powerful.
One of them tells the story of seeing a protestor come in for an abortion one week and show up protesting again outside the clinic the following week. People are always encouraged to submit their stories to us at info@aisfor.org.
But the main thing they can do is register to vote and also register their friends and family and really get out the vote this November. These midterms are certainly the most important in my lifetime.
