As the host of the Physicians for Reproductive Health's Voices of Courage benefit on Tuesday night, actress Olivia Wilde dropped some serious truth about women's access to reproductive health care.
During The benefit, which honors abortion doctors who go above and beyond their job duties to provide health care to women, Wilde posted the below photo of Dr. Colleen McNicholas, who received the George Tiller, MD Award for outstanding courage in hostile and challenging environments.
Wilde also added an inspiring caption to the post:
As a human being, a mother, and a pregnant lady who loves babies, I am deeply inspired by everyone I met tonight. NO MATTER WHAT YOU BELIEVE, here's the thing: abortion isn't going to stop. People are going to find a way, whether it's safe and legal, or potentially deadly. So let's not let ideology get in the way of evidence. Let's take care of each other and work hard to stop the stripping of our reproductive rights.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan.com, Wilde said that she felt "honored" to be sitting in a room with so many people who support women's health care access. "You realize when you're pregnant how lucky you are to have access to medical care," she said. Wilde, who has a two-year-old son and is five months pregnant with her second child, acknowledged how fortunate she was to choose when to start a family.
"I feel so lucky that I was able to choose when to become a mother, and that in between my two children, I was able to plan that I didn't want to have one right away," she said.
Wilde also acknowledged her privileged position as a wealthy Hollywood actress who is able to make her own decisions about her reproductive health, with access and to contraception and top-notch health care:
It always boils down to a class issue. It would be ignorant to ignore that that is what this is all about, and so it's really important for those of us who have access to health care and have access to abortion to speak up for the people who are in Oklahoma. It's our job, because they're losing that battle.
She also encouraged women who have easier access to abortion -- in places like New York and San Francisco where clinics are more readily available -- to "fight for our sisters around the country." "It's time to become really active," especially, she continued, when the U.S. is facing a potential Donald Trump presidency. "It is terrifying to think of what would happen to women's rights in this country," she said.
Wilde's comments -- especially as "a mother, and a pregnant lady who loves babies" -- are hugely relevant. This month, the Supreme Court is expected to make a landmark decision about Texas abortion access, and this year alone, five states have passed new and aggressive anti-abortion legislation.
Becoming "really active" sounds pretty imperative to us.
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