Sophie Turner Vows Not to Work in Anti-Abortion States

Sophie Turner announced in an interview with Sky News, along with her Oscar-nominated X-Men: Dark Phoenix co-star Jessica Chastain, that both the actors had signed a letter vowing not to work in anti-abortion states.

This letter, signed by a long list of A-list celebrities, condemns the recent passing of anti-abortion laws in several US states that limit the criteria for legal abortions. The stricter of these bills is the proposed “heartbeat law” which makes abortions illegal after a fetal heartbeat can be heard—roughly six weeks into the pregnancy—regardless if the woman is a survivor of rape or incest.

Georgia, the third largest film hub in the US, became the fourth state to introduce the heartbeat bill this year. Simultaneously, Alabama passed a near-total abortion ban, with the only exception being if the woman’s health is at serious risk.

This law states that Alabama doctors who provide abortions outside of this exception can serve up to 99 years in prison, and can also seek prison time for women who have miscarriages and/or stillbirths. This would mean that a doctor or woman who loses a pregnancy could potentially serve a longer sentence than say, for example, a first-time offender who is accused of raping an intellectually disabled woman or a 13-year-old girl.

After the bill passed in Alabama, Turner posted a collage of Republican politicians saying downright bone-chilling statements about rape.

In the Sky News interview, Chastain said, “I'm not going to work in any state that denies rights for women, for the LGBTQ community, for anyone. I'm not going to work in a state that discriminates”

Turner stated that she also signed the letter, but added, “I have yet to tell my agents I signed it. They're going to be like: ‘What? You can't work in these states?’ Yeah, I can't work in these states.”

The Sky News reporter responded to Turner saying that she had done a lot of work for Game of Thrones in Northern Ireland, another location that has an almost complete ban of abortion. Turner responded, “There was a lot of work of Game of Thrones there, so luckily we're moving on.”

Turner and Chastain are among at least 50 celebrities openly condemning the anti-abortion laws and supporting the women of Alabama, Georgia, and the like. Some of the others who have spoken out include Rihanna, Amy Schumer, Reese Witherspoon, Alec Baldwin, and Laverne Cox.