''Roe vs. Wade'' is a 1989

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

written by Alison Cross about the landmark 1973

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

decision ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

''. It was directed by

Gregory Hoblit Gregory King Hoblit (born November 27, 1944) is an American film director, television director and television producer. He is best known for directing the films '' Primal Fear'', ''Fallen'', '' Frequency'', ''Hart's War'', '' Fracture'', and '' ...

and stars

Holly Hunter Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film '' The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...

and

Amy Madigan Amy Marie Madigan (born September 11, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1985 film '' Twice in a Lifetime''. Her other film credits include '' Love Child'' (1982), ''Places ...

Plot

Ellen Russell is a lonely, single, poorly educated Texan who finds herself pregnant with no means to support a child. To avoid giving up the child, she seeks an abortion. Denied an abortion in Texas, the young woman hires a novice lawyer to plead her case in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cast

as Ellen Russell *

as Sarah Weddington *

Chris Mulkey Chris Mulkey (born May 3, 1948) is an American film and television actor. Career Mulkey played the supporting role of husband to Annie Potts's character in '' Any Day Now'' from 1998 to 2002. He has also appeared in '' Captain Phillips'', '' ...

as Ron Weddington * Dion Anderson as Flowers *

Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and '' Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', ...

as Jay Floyd *

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in '' Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters ...

as Darryl Horwath * Alycia Grant as Sherry Roe * James Avery *

Maggie Baird Maggie May Baird (born ) is an American actress, screenwriter, and former theater troupe teacher. Baird grew up in Colorado performing music, and studied theater and dance at the University of Utah, before moving to New York City, where she pe ...

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actor and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, includ ...

* Daniel Benzali * Kevin Cooney

Production

''Roe vs. Wade'' was filmed on 35mm film with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and mixed in stereo.

Release

The film first aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on May 15, 1989. It was the 10th most viewed primetime television show for the week, with a 17.0

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

, and seen in an estimated 15.3 million homes.Buck, Jerry (May 28, 1989)
Jessica's rescue highest rated show for past week
''News-Telegram'' (Sulphur Springs, Texas) (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

story) The German TV broadcast was edited down from 100 to 91 minutes.

Awards

41st Primetime Emmy Awards

47th Golden Globe Awards

References

External links

* 1989 television films 1989 films American legal drama films American courtroom films Films directed by Gregory Hoblit NBC Productions films Television courtroom dramas Films set in 1970 Films set in 1971 Films set in 1973 Films set in Texas Films about abortion Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie winners American drama television films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub