Kim Cattrall has described the US Supreme court’s overturning of Roe v Wade as a “devastating blow” for women.
The Sex and the City star was honoured with the Screen Icon prize at Glamour’s Women of the Year awards in London on Tuesday (8 November).
Cattrall arrived on the red carpet wearing a black strapless mini dress with silver detailing from David Koma.
Speaking to reporters on the red carpet, the actor was asked about the “one thing” she would like to improve for women.
Commenting on the landmark decision in the US earlier this year, which struck down constitutional rights to abortion that had been in place for almost 50 years, Cattrall said: “It’s a devastating blow to women’s rights and women’s choice, and it’s something that unfortunately we’re going to have to fight to get back.”
In an interview with Glamour ahead of the award ceremony, Cattrall urged women in the US to vote for politicians who have vowed to reinstate abortion protections.
“That’s what we can do. I remember so clearly being at a dinner party when Hillary Clinton was running [in a previous election]. I was shocked at its table of women,” Cattrall said.
“The alternatives were Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. And I just thought, ‘gals, we need to get on the bus here and get together as women’. Because these are the realities of what is at stake with that kind of leadership.”
Cattrall said much of her passion for women’s rights is a result of her own experiences growing up and seeing her mother struggle. She said her parents lived by assigned “roles”.
“Truly what I learned from my parents was not to make waves. Just go with the flow. Don’t stand out,” Cattrall recalled.
“I realised that was not how I was going to live my life. I wasn’t happy,” she said, adding that she “likes to have a point of view”.
“As a result, in my life, I’ve felt invested in expressing women of my age, whatever age it’s been and what they have to say. Whether it’s about being childfree, or women’s sexuality, or menopause, I’ve found a real power in being an ally and expressing these experiences.”
