Her tweet comes after a new law in Texas bans women from getting an abortion six weeks into their pregnancy.
Thanks to a new bill passed in Texas, women no longer have the choice to get an abortion. The law states that a woman will not be able to terminate their pregnancy if the fetus has a heartbeat, which can be detected as early as six weeks into the pregnancy. The law came into effect on September 1, 2021.
This period is way too early for some women to even realize they're pregnant, thus forcing them to keep a baby they might not have wanted in the first place, because of Texas' draconian new law, which is now being dubbed the most restrictive abortion law in the country. According to CNN, no other six-week abortion ban has ever come into effect before.
Also, it seems the law is dubbed the "heartbeat bill", is a misnomer, because medical and reproductive health experts say the reference to a heartbeat at that stage of pregnancy is medically inaccurate as an embryo does not have a developed heart at six weeks gestation, per Texas Tribune.
The Texas abortion law is a grim reminder that a woman's body is still not her own || By Jess Phillips https://t.co/bGPQgxsSrg
— SafetyPin-Daily (@SafetyPinDaily) September 7, 2021
What's worse is that the law does not make any sort of exception for cases involving rape or incest. According to a press release from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Justice Department is exploring ways to challenge the Texas abortion law.
According to NPR, under the law, private citizens will be granted the right to sue abortion providers and anyone else who helps a woman obtain an abortion. This includes people who give a woman a ride to a clinic or provide financial assistance for an abortion. Private citizens who bring these suits don't need to show any connection to those they are suing. Those who successfully sue an abortion provider under this law could be awarded at least $10,000.
A lot of people, including celebrities, have taken to social media to talk about just how unfair this new bill is, but there's nothing much they can do about it, except protest. The latest celebrity to share their opinion on the law that has divided the U.S. is Greta Thunberg. The 18-year-old climate activist has taken to Twitter to share a pie chart about the reasons why women have abortions.
The reasons why women have abortions: pic.twitter.com/KGiWtMtLnq
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) September 3, 2021
According to VT, the chart bluntly lists the biggest reason for women deciding to get an abortion as "personal choice" at 60%, a blunt "F**k off" at 22%, with "Not your concern" at 10%, and "Mind your business" at 8%. Mind you, the teen's shared this with her 5 million followers, and it didn't take too long for it to go viral and here are some of the best reactions:
BEST. TWEET. EVER about reproductive rights! Thanks @GretaThunberg. Now if only we could figure out why men think nobody should tell them to wear a mask or get vaccinated to save lives.
— Kristina Stockwood (@K_Stockwood) September 4, 2021
A woman's healthcare is between her and her doctor, not politicians with no medical experience.
— nanmorand Equality & Justice (@nanmorand) September 3, 2021
A quick scan of the responses - 99% of the ones objecting to this are men.
— Sterling Rose 💉💉 (@SterlingRose62) September 3, 2021
If men got pregnant there would be more facilities to get one than ATMs
— 🕷💙 🇪🇺 (@sharonpentay) September 5, 2021
Didn't think it was possible for you to impress me any more. You proved me wrong!!!
— AvengingAngel (@AvengingAngel94) September 8, 2021
References:
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1033202132/texas-abortion-ban-what-happens-next
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/01/politics/texas-abortion-supreme-court-sb8-roe-wade/index.html
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/02/texas-abortion-heartbeat-bill/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez