Actress Ilana Glazer, star of Comedy Central’s Broad City, lamented that Texas is a “genuinely dangerous” state for women due to its restrictions on abortion.
Appearing at the SXSW film festival to promote her movie Babes, which follows two women as they tackle the trials and tribulations of motherhood, Glazer called the policies in Texas “literally terrifying.”
“The policies here in Texas are literally terrifying. To be a femme or female-bodied person in Texas is genuinely dangerous,” Glazer said. “I am so proud to show a story here with ‘Babes’ that shows new kinds of families, different kinds of families, and women making choices about their bodies and the families that they want to create or not create.”
The comments arose when reporters with the Austin American-Statesman asked Glazer, Michelle Buteau, and director Pamela Adlon what it means to make a debut about pregnancy and motherhood in a state like Texas.
“I think putting important topics and finding comedy in the pain and the frustration is what comedians do. We run into the burning building, we don’t shy away from it,” Buteau said. “I think it definitely not only starts with arts and culture, it stays with arts and culture. So I say to anybody that’s a creative, just talk about the things you’re going through because it’s very important.”
Actress-turned-Director Pamela Adlon (Californication, Say Anything) expressed hope that the laws will change.
“I feel like things will turn around and things will shift. We just need to stay calm and have a conversation,” she said.
Other than for the life of the mother and other extreme cases, the practice of abortion is relatively banned in the state of Texas. Due to these new restrictions, roughly 16,000 more people were born in the Lone Star state in 2022.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.