Mark Ruffalo: Keeping Abortion Legal Is a 'Moral Issue'

Actor Mark Ruffalo finds inspiration to fight for legal abortions from his own mother’s successful mission to end a pregnancy decades ago.

Ruffalo, best known for both his indie films and ties to the Avengers franchise as the Hulk, stars in a new video celebrating the 41th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion nationwide.

The clip finds Ruffalo recalling how his mother struggled to find the right resources when she wanted to abort a child.

For my teenage self it was very startling that people would have to search out doctors at night miles and miles and miles away from their home in a closed down doctor’s office or motel room,” Ruffalo said in the video, which was produced by the Center for Reproductive Rights. “I couldn’t believe it and I was appalled by it and I saw the pain that it caused my mother….”

I can’t stand aside with two beautiful young girls of my own and accept that we’re going to return to those days,” Ruffalo said.

The actor says the contentious issue is an ethical dilemma, one with a clear answer.

It becomes kind of a moral issue about who you are, you know, and how you view the women in your life,” Ruffalo said in the video.