Busy Philipps challenging anti-abortion bills with new ad campaign

Actress Busy Philipps is taking her fight against U.S. anti-abortion laws one step further by fronting a new advertising campaign for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The Dawson’s Creek star was one of the first celebrities to publicly slam Georgia’s new legislation, which bans terminations once a foetal heartbeat is detected, typically at around six weeks of gestation.
She hit out at the bill on her now-cancelled late night talk show, Busy Tonight, earlier this month (May19), hours after politicians voted to pass the legislation, recalling how she needed an abortion after falling pregnant at 15.
“The statistic is that one in four women will have an abortion before age 45,” she added. “That statistic sometimes surprises people, and maybe you’re sitting there thinking, ‘I don’t know a woman who would have an abortion’. Well, you know me.”
Her impassioned speech went viral and helped her launch the #YouKnowMe social media movement, encouraging other women to come forward with their own stories of unwanted pregnancies.
Now Philipps has teamed up with activists at the ACLU, who are seeking to challenge the anti-abortion bills recently signed into law in states like Ohio, Georgia, and Alabama, to front a new ad push using her popular hashtag, which has been used by more than 87,000 Twitter users in the days since.
The actress will narrate the ACLU commercial, which is set to launch on TV and digital platforms next week (begs27May19).
“You know me. You know someone like me,” she says in the clip. “I had an abortion. It was my decision. Today, it’s my right. But states are trying to take that right away…
“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.”
Actresses Minka Kelly, Amber Tamblyn, Milla Jovovich, and Robin Thicke’s model fiancee April Love Geary are among the stars who also spoke out about their abortion experiences in the wake of the restrictive Georgia and Alabama bills.