USA – Abortion curbs led to book: Atwood

Abortion curbs led to book: Atwood
Moves to limit women's access to abortion, particularly in the United States, led to The Testaments

By Reuters in London
Published 11.09.19

Canadian author Margaret Atwood said moves to limit women's access to abortion, particularly in the United States, led to the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale which was released on Tuesday in a hotly-anticipated cultural event.

The Testaments sees Atwood pick up the story from her 1985 account of a totalitarian future in which fertile women are forced into sexual servitude to repopulate a world facing environmental disaster. She said she had not planned a sequel to the story, which was set in fictional Gilead in the US region of New England in the near future, but real life political events, including moves to limit women’s reproductive rights, led her to reconsider.

Continued: https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/abortion-curbs-led-to-book-atwood/cid/1704011

11.09.2019

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Margaret Atwood Thinks Roe v. Wade Will Be Overturned⁠—and There Will Be the ‘Most Horrific Backlash

Margaret Atwood Thinks Roe v. Wade Will Be Overturned⁠—and There Will Be the 'Most Horrific Backlash'

By Chantal Da Silva
On 9/10/19

As states across America continue to usher in new laws imposing restrictions on abortion, Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale has become increasingly relevant in its depiction of a totalitarian regime that sees women's bodies as properties of the state.

And now, as Atwood releases The Testaments, her much-anticipated sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, the Canadian author has also offered a premonition for the future of abortion laws in the U.S.

Continued: https://www.newsweek.com/margaret-atwood-testaments-handmaids-tale-abortion-laws-u-s-roe-v-wade-1458483

10.09.2019

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USA – From TV to Real Life: ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Co-Producer Discusses Women’s Rights Issues

From TV to Real Life: ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Co-Producer Discusses Women’s Rights Issues

By Bonnie Azoulay
07/02/19

When Wendy Straker Hauser started working as a co-producer on The Handmaid’s Tale, Donald Trump hadn’t yet won the presidency. She was just as shocked as viewers watching the show when they discovered how accurately Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel mimicked the politics unfolding in real time. Until I spoke to Hauser, I assumed that some of the events portrayed on the TV series were altered to reflect what was happening in modern-day America. But before it streamed on Hulu, the show was produced and shot months before she or her crew could have a chance to change any scenes to mirror current events.

Continued: https://observer.com/2019/07/handmaids-tale-bold-type-wendy-straker-hauser-womens-rights-issues/

02.07.2019

How Margaret Atwood predicted America’s future in The Handmaid’s Tale

How Margaret Atwood predicted America’s future in The Handmaid’s Tale

Posted by Jean Hannah Edelstein
Published Jun 18, 2019

“If you return to your country of origin, would you be persecuted on the basis of you being a woman?”

On the bank of a dark river, a Canadian customs official speaks these words to a woman who is lying on the ground, drenched in freezing river water, clutching a baby. She has just completed a harrowing near-death journey across the border, and this is part of the script that the officer must recite in order for her to seek refuge in Canada. The woman nods, shivering and frantic. “Do you wish to claim asylum?” the guard asks.

Continued: https://www.stylist.co.uk/life/handmaids-tale-margaret-atwood-predicted-us-abortion-law-pro-life-heartbeat-bill/273387

What would America look like if abortion were made illegal again?

What would America look like if abortion were made illegal again?
Leni Zumas third novel, Red Clocks, has been described as a successor to The Handmaid’s Tale

Apr 2, 2018
Tanya Sweeney

Given that her third novel has landed bang on the zeitgeist, it’s almost astonishing to think that Leni Zumas began writing it seven years ago.

The novel, Red Clocks, pivots on a simple conceit – what would America look like if abortion were made illegal again? – and has been described as a successor to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, or Naomi Alderman’s The Power.

The comparisons sit well with Zumas, a relative newcomer: “It feels flattering and kind of scary,” she admits.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/what-would-america-look-like-if-abortion-were-made-illegal-again-1.3443337