''Roe vs. Wade'' is a 1989 television film 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 ''Un ...

and stars Holly Hunter 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 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 ...

Cast

* Holly Hunter as Ellen Russell *

Sarah Weddington Sarah Catherine Ragle Weddington (February 5, 1945 – December 26, 2021) was an American attorney, law professor, advocate for women's rights and reproductive health, and member of the Texas House of Representatives. She was best known for repre ...

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 Dion may refer to: People Ancient *Dion (mythology), a king in Laconia and husband of Iphitea, the daughter of Prognaus *Dion of Syracuse (408–354 BC), ancient Greek politician *Dio of Alexandria, first century BC, ancient Greek philosoph ...

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'', w ...

as Jay Floyd * Stephen Tobolowsky 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 perf ...

* Kathy Bates *

Daniel Benzali Daniel Benzali (born January 20, 1946) is a Brazilian-American stage, television and film actor. Early life Benzali was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the son of Lee, a cook, and Carlo Benzali, a salesman who had also been an actor in Brazilian ...

Kevin Cooney Kevin Cooney may refer to: * Kevin Cooney (actor), American actor * Kevin Cooney (baseball) Kevin Cooney (born August 12, 1950) is an American former college baseball coach who was the head coach at Montclair State from 1984–1987 and Florida ...

Production

''Roe vs. Wade'' was filmed on

35mm film 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and mixed in stereo.

Release

The film first aired on NBC on May 15, 1989. It was the 10th most viewed primetime television show for the week, with a 17.0 Nielsen rating, 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. newspa ...

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