Reproductive rights activist Amanda Zurawski opened TheWrap’s Power Women Summit 2025 on Tuesday with a call to arms and a message of perseverance, sharing her near-death experience after miscarrying her child and the lawsuit against the state of Texas that followed.
After being denied a medically necessary abortion in 2022 until going into septic shock and spending three nights in the ICU, Zurawski has become a prominent activist against abortion bans in her home state of Texas and beyond. She testified in front of Congress and was the lead plaintiff in Zurawski v. Texas, the first lawsuit brought by patients challenging a state on its abortion bans since the fall of Roe v. Wade three years ago.
“Pluribus” and “Better Call Saul” star Rhea Seehorn introduced the keynote address at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit, presented by STARZ #TakeTheLead and held at the Maybourne Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. The actress told the audience that Zurawski had “personally shaped her with her courage.”
The same week that abortions were all but banned in Texas, Zurawski was 18 weeks pregnant and learned that there was no chance she would deliver her baby safely after suffering complications with her cervix . She was denied treatment and told she had to wait until her life was in danger or her baby’s heart stopped beating before necessary medical care could be provided.
“It was in that dark and lonely hospital room where I realized I was actually lucky I lived — others have not been as lucky,” she said Tuesday, recounting her time in the hospital after going into septic shock. “All of that pain, all of that trauma, was completely preventable. None of it had to happen.”
Amanda Zurawski tells her powerful story from the forefront of the reproductive rights movement at TheWrap's #PowerWomenSummit2025
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Just 10 days after she was discharged from the hospital stay, Zurawski started talking publicly about her experience, speaking at the Democratic National Convention alongside her husband, appearing on cable news networks like MSNBC and CNN and even holding court on the Senate floor.
As she traveled the country, she realized that her story was not unique.
“I am one of many women in our country whose life has been put at risk because of the anti-reproductive freedom agenda,” she said. “I know this because I’ve met them from Texas to Arizona, Idaho to Georgia, women like me have been told that we are not sick enough to receive the care that we desperately need.
“We have been turned away from hospitals. We have been found collapsed on our bathroom floors. We have been told to flee across state lines in the hope of receiving basic reproductive care,” she continued.
Zurawski’s rallying cry to those gathered at the Power Women Summit was that it was more important than ever to champion women’s stories and uplift the voices of those in need.
“What began as a quiet whisper in my hospital room has grown to a thunderous roar made up of thousands of women’s voices,” she said. “Even though sharing our heartbreak is extremely difficult, by speaking up, we refuse to be defined by anything other than our own terms. We use our voices to own our narratives, claim our stories and demand change.”
“Each of you have a voice, perhaps now only a whisper,” Zurawski encouraged. “Use it to fight for what you believe in, to uplift those around you, to love your neighbors, regardless of your differences.”
The abortion activist concluded her address by empowering the women in the room to spread their light and their power in the face of political rollbacks and a chaotic news cycle. It’s as important as ever to lift one another up.
TheWrap’s Power Women Summit presented by STARZ #TakeTheLead is the essential gathering of the most influential women across entertainment and media. The event aims to inspire and empower women across the landscape of their professional careers and personal lives. PWS provides one day of keynotes, panels, workshops and networking. For more information visit: thewrap.com/pws.
For all Power Women Summit 2025 coverage, click here.
