Good morning! The presidential race enters its final stretch, a pioneering TV exec invests in women, and a documentary shows the human toll of abortion bans. Go get your Monday!
– Real stories. In 2023, Amanda Zurawski agreed to be the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state of Texas. The suit was the first of its kind—the first time women in post-Roe America had been the plaintiffs in an abortion case.
The case asked Texas to clarify the medical emergency exemption in its abortion ban, which the plaintiffs said was unclear and put their lives at risk. The Texas Supreme Court declined to compel the state to do so in May of this year. But the story isn’t over—in addition to serving as the first plaintiff in the case, Zurawski also agreed to participate in a documentary. The resulting film, Zurawski v Texas, was released this year and has been playing in select theaters over the past several weeks.
The film doesn’t get into national politics, but it’s no accident it’s been screening in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday. The documentary shows the real impact of abortion bans on people’s lives, from almost dying, to losing their fertility, to their effects on its subjects’ marriages and families. “We were really thinking about telling this from a very human perspective, rather than getting caught up in the political arguments,” says filmmaker Abbie Perrault.
Zurawski’s story starts when she went into pre-term labor at 18 weeks and was denied an abortion because doctors could still detect a fetal heartbeat. She developed sepsis and eventually received an abortion, but compromised her future fertility, a story she has testified about in front of Congress and shared during a speech at the Democratic National Convention. Another plaintiff featured in the film, Samantha Casiano, carried her pregnancy to term despite a fatal fetal diagnosis and then was forced to bury her child, who died four hours after birth. The film shows the aftermath of those experiences, from Zurawski’s attempts to conceive via surrogate to Casiano’s decision to pursue a tubal ligation. The documentary also follows lead attorney Molly Duane of the Center for Reproductive Rights and Austin Dennard, an OB-GYN who joined the lawsuit as a patient because of her own experience being forced to travel out of state for an abortion.
In an environment in which reporting about abortion abounds, but can sometimes struggle to break through, “we wanted to to educate audiences and take them on a journey, not just be talking heads and experts saying why abortion access is important,” says filmmaker Maisie Crow.
Zurawski hopes that viewers—and voters—will learn from her story. The film shows her family members, including her father, reckon with their own politics and beliefs about abortion, coming to the conclusion that an abortion ban that put Zurawski’s life at risk (and lost others their lives) is not just. “Folks who see the film, they can see themselves in my husband, my brother, and they can see that this is not a women’s issue,” Zurawski says. “This is an issue for families. This is a human rights issue, and it affects everyone in this country.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Poll report. In the final stretch of the U.S. presidential race, it remains a neck-and-neck contest. Kamala Harris is ahead in Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, according to one set of polls, while Donald Trump leads in Arizona—with Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania too close to call. New York Times
- TV to AI. Kay Koplovitz was the first woman to lead a TV network in the U.S. and has invested in women-led companies through her firm Springboard. She says women are highly competitive in tech and business but still under-resourced in emerging fields like AI. New York Times
- Incarceration investigation. The AP conducted a two-year investigation into prison labor, which revealed reports from incarcerated women alleging sexual abuse from correctional staff. The report found cases of women being attacked by staff members in all 50 states, often without punishment for the accused. AP
- Sharing stories. Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards cofounded Abortion in America, a social media project sharing personal stories about abortion bans that has raised around $1 million in backing. “The only thing people respond to and remember are stories,” said Richards. New York Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Sleep Number Corporation announced that Shelly Ibach will be retiring as chair, president, and chief executive officer; she has been at the company since 2007.
D2K Traffic, a traffic management solutions provider, named Jodie Braskich chief operating officer. She was most recently director of midwestern operations at Davey Resource Group.
Glenmede Investment Management, an asset management firm, appointed Elizabeth Eldridge as president. She was previously managing director at the firm.
Qualtrics, an experience management company, appointed Rachita Sundar as chief financial officer. Most recently, she was SVP, financial planning and analysis at HubSpot.
PCS Software, a transportation management system provider, named Danielle Villegas chief product officer. Previously, Villegas was VP of product at SkySpecs.
Haymarket Media Group, a media and data company, appointed Dana DiFerdinando to its U.S. board of directors. Recently, she served as chief Data officer at GE Healthcare.
ON MY RADAR
Why married women leave their wedding rings at home. It’s not what you think Wall Street Journal
A new era for women in rap New York Times
Women over 70 have seen massive changes in their lifetimes. Will a woman president be another? PBS
PARTING WORDS
“I always ask, ‘How does my money make money?’ I've been obsessed with that. I want to be making money while I'm sleeping.”
— Actor, producer, and director Eva Longoria on how she has grown as an investor after saving John Wick with a $6 million investment
