Busy Philipps and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are putting a human face on an issue that is being unjustly politicized — one that, unsurprisingly, affects women, women of color, and other marginalized communities. The actress and former talk show host and the ACLU have teamed up on #YouKnowMe, an ad campaign encouraging those who have had abortions, and those who care about someone who has had an abortion, to speak up.
“You know me,” Philipps states in the new ad. “You know someone like me. I had an abortion.” She continues, “Today [abortion is] my right, but states are trying to take that right away by taking on Roe v. Wade — and [Donald] Trump is making it possible.”
The “I Feel Pretty” star then goes on to detail how Trump is filling federal courts and the Supreme Court with anti-choice judges, and reminds us of the disturbing abortion bans and restrictions sweeping the country. Philipps explains that the ACLU is fighting anti-choice legislation in 14 states, including Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
“It’s no time to sit on the sidelines,” Philipps emphasizes. One in four women will have an abortion sometime in her life. In order to ensure safe abortion is available in the U.S., we need to talk about it openly, neutralize its stigma, and resist those hellbent on controlling our bodies.
“This is the most recent front in a war to protect civil rights and civil liberties from a hostile Trump administration that has also enabled ideologues to push the same agenda at the state level,” said ACLU executive director Anthony Romero, per Variety. “In the fight to safeguard abortion, this is our Alamo. 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. 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,” he promised.
The #YouKnowMe ad will run on the web, MSNBC, and CNN throughout the next week.
Earlier this month, in response to Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, Philipps revealed she had an abortion as a teenager on “Busy Tonight,” her recently-wrapped E! talk show. She received largely supportive, positive feedback after sharing her story, and subsequently launched #YouKnowMe to persuade women to talk about their own abortions.
Philipps and the ACLU aren’t the only ones publicly resisting the “Handmaid’s Tale”-esque turn the U.S. has recently taken. Director Reed Morano and Kristen Wiig have both pulled projects from Georgia in protest of its ban. They cancelled production on Amazon series “The Power” and feature comedy “Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar” in the state, respectively.
“Busy Tonight” launched in fall 2018 and ended last week. Philipps served as an exec producer on the show. Her acting credits include “Freaks and Geeks,” “Dawson’s Creek,” and “Cougar Town.” She directed a 2015 episode of the latter.
Check out the #YouKnowMe ad below.
