STAGE TUBE: Dee Dee Bridgewater Speaks Out for Reproductive Rights!

Today, the Center for Reproductive Rights released a new PSA featuring Tony and multiple Grammy Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater as part of a new video series following the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the historic US Supreme Court decision that recognized a woman's constitutional right to abortion.

Dee Dee Bridgewater, who is the host of NPR's JazzSet and a world-renowned singer, is best known for her two-time Grammy Award winning album, Dear Ella, dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald, and her Tony Award winning role as Glinda the Good Witch in Broadway's The Wiz.

In the video, Dee Dee shares a powerful story about her own terrifying experience seeking an abortion as a teen prior to the Roe v. Wade ruling. By sharing her personal story, Dee Dee hopes that women will be inspired to share their own experiences as a way to urge more Americans to stand up for reproductive rights.

Said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights:

"Dee Dee Bridgewater's harrowing and courageous story is a prime example of just what is at stake in this fight for our basic reproductive rights. This fight isn't just about laws on the books. It's about millions of women's lives.

"It is time for our elected officials to really hear personal stories like Dee Dee's and support legislation and policies, like the federal Women's Health Protection Act, that safeguard a woman's right to decide when and if to have children, no matter where she lives."

The first PSA in this new series, which was released on the Roe anniversary on January 22, featured actor and reproductive rights advocate Mark Ruffalo, who also shared a personal story about his family's pre-Roe experience and called for politicians to move reproductive rights forward, not backward. In the months to come, additional PSAs will be released by the Center as part of its Draw the Line campaign.

More than 130 Members of Congress-including 34 Senators and 99 Representatives-have stepped forward to sponsor the Women's Health Protection Act(S1691/HR 3471), a Congressional bill designed to end the recent wave of anti-choice laws preventing women from accessing their constitutional right to an abortion-ensuring a woman's constitutional rights do not depend on her zip code. The Women's Health Protection Act would ensure abortion providers are not singled out-and in many cases shut down-for medically unwarranted restrictions that ultimately harm women by preventing them from accessing safe and legal abortion services.

To join the conversation online, supporters should follow @ReproRights and use the hashtags #DrawTheLine and #ActForWomen.