Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Golden Globes Acceptance Speech, Michelle Williams Advocates For Abortion Rights In Tumultuous Times
Michelle Williams took home a best actress Golden Globe Sunday night, but not before shining the spotlight on abortion rights. The actress used her time on stage to advocate for a "woman's right to choose" 鈥 a right she said enabled her to be where she is today.聽...聽"As women and as girls, things can happen to our bodies that are not our choice. I've tried my best to live a life of my own making, and not just a series of events that happened to me," she said. "... And I wouldn't have been able to do this without employing a woman's right to choose. To choose when to have my children and with whom."聽(Cohen, 1/6)
Williams, who has been an active participant in Hollywood鈥檚 Time鈥檚 Up movement, went on to declare that she could not have lived the life she鈥檚 had without the guarantee of a women鈥檚 right to choose, and of knowing she would be able 鈥渢o choose when to have my children, and with whom.鈥 鈥淚 know my choices might look different than yours,鈥 Williams said. 鈥淏ut thank god or whomever you pray to that we live in a country founded on the principle that I am free to live by my faith and you are free to live by yours. So, women, 18 to 118, when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self-interest. It鈥檚 what men have been doing for years.鈥 (Grady, 1/5)
Her speech comes at a time when multiple states have taken action to restrict access to abortion services and pressure from Congress to overturn Roe v. Wade is rising. Williams is set to star in This Is Jane, an Amazon Studios drama about women who provided abortion services before they were legal. Speaking to reporters after accepting her award on Sunday, Williams said she was inspired by the response to her Emmy Awards speech in September in which she addressed the gender pay gap in Hollywood. (Wells, 1/5)