Help me get voters to the polls in November to advocate for federal abortion protections.

Abortion bans and restrictions are harming pregnant people and practitioners all over America. Facts:

• One year after Roe was overturned, about 50% of women of reproductive age live in states that have or are likely to ban abortion. (Source: Guttmacher Institute)
• 75 percent of abortion patients are low-income, and women who were denied an abortion experienced an increase in household poverty lasting at least four years. (Source: NIH)
• Restricted access and bans have forced women to travel to states where abortion is legal, overwhelming clinics in those states and leading to astronomical patient costs and major care delays. As a result, abortions in the second and third trimester of pregnancy appear to be on the rise. (Source: Guttmacher)

We've all heard these gut-wrenching stories:

• "There are no outcomes at the end of this where I take home a healthy baby girl. I never thought I would ever want or need an abortion, but this is a medical decision, and it's what's needed for my health.” -Kate Cox, denied abortion care in Texas

• "Because of this, mom is at great risk if she completely abruption in terms of hemorrhaging and dying. It does not make sense to me to wait till mom has bleeding to death before we deliver a nonviable pregnancy despite the fact that there is a heartbeat," the doctor wrote. -Brittany Watts, Ohio woman charged with felony after miscarriage at home

Abortion is also a highly motivating issue that can get people to vote in November. More facts:

• There are approximately 2.3MM voters across the top six swing states for 2024 who are highly supportive of the right to choose, but who have not turned out in the past.
• With the impact of the overturning of Roe v. Wade clearly acting as a motivational force in election after election, activating these voters can provide critical votes in what will certainly be tight margins in November 2024.

So, what can we do?

• Create multiple video shorts for social media as a way of telling the human stories that resulted from the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
• Get the real stories of real patients and providers who are suffering from abortion bans and restrictions in front of voters before November in order to drive folks to the polls to advocate for federal protections of abortion rights.
• Film in clinics that are overwhelmed with abortion refugees coming from nearby states with bans.
• Give voters a clear call-to-action based on research and polling:
  • Trump said he would ban abortion. Believe Trump and the GOP when they make threats. Vote on November 5th to protect your rights.
  
  UPDATE AS OF 04/12/2024: Gaining access has proved difficult. According to reproductive rights experts, many patients are terrified and unwilling to be filmed, and clinics are overwhelmed and exhausted.
  
  
  To solve for this, we are creating compelling video without patient/clinic participation, in two ways:
  
  
  1. PSA-style video portraying the challenges and including the effective messaging from Democratic researchers ("Donald Trump did this. Believe him when he makes threats."). We can use stock imagery to create this style of video, without filming.
  
  
  2. Doc-style video showcasing folks who aren't immediately harmed by Dobbs, but who have struggled nonetheless. The first example of that would be men talking about how access, or lack thereof, to abortion, has affected them. (The Abortion-Rights Messages That Resonate With Men; TIME

• 3. If we gain access, we will return to the original idea of filming clinicians and patients in a clinic in a state receiving patients from states with bans/restrictions.

OK, but what makes ME qualified to do this work?

• I am a filmmaker with proven experience in creating viral video. Our first year at NBC, my team netted over 1 BILLION video views on Facebook.
• I am a mom who was able to access abortion care when I needed it.
• I have incredible thought partners on board: Society for Family Planning, PlanCPills, Repro Legal Helpline, Floridians Protecting Freedom and more. Additionally, we have political strategy and research experts on board from Lake Research Partners and Analyst Institute.

MENU OF PRODUCTION OPTIONS/COST BREAKDOWN:

-Bare-Bones, Quick and Easy PSA, which includes:

• 3 days of pre-production (stock photo and video research, scriptwriting)
• 3 days of post-production (editing, sound design, color correction)
• Cost of stock footage and music licensing

TOTAL: $7000

-3-DAY Doc-Style Production, which includes:

• 4 weeks of pre-production (casting, location scouting, scriptwriting, stock photo and video research)
• 3 days of production (filming, gear, travel)
• 2 weeks of post-production (editing, sound design, color correction)
• Cost of stock footage and music licensing

• Social media with display and video,
• The broader online advertising marketplace via display/video,
• YouTube
• Streaming services including spots on Hulu, Peacock, Max.

Contingencies if we gain access to clinics, which include:

• Travel and expenses for crew,
• Additional production and editing days,
• Additional crew members

FISCAL SPONSORSHIP FEE: 6 percent of total amount raised

Christina Anderson is the founder of Runaway Train Productions, a female-founded video production company with a commitment to empowering women and historically underrepresented groups both in front of and behind the camera. Our clients include Pfizer, J&J, Johns Hopkins University, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Mount Sinai Health Systems and more. We create marketing and communications videos for national companies.