Bette Midler Suggests Women Should "Refuse to Have Sex with Men" to Protest Texas' Rigid Abortion Law

Soon after the highly restrictive anti-abortion law went into effect this week in Texas, several celebrities used their position to openly criticize it and Bette Midler was one of them. The 75-year-old opposed Senate Bill 8 and used an interesting approach to fight it. Taking to Twitter on Thursday, the four-time Golden Globe awardee wrote, "I suggest that all women refuse to have sex with men until they are guaranteed the right to choose by Congress." Responding to this proposition, singer Frank Sinatra's daughter, Nancy, expressed, "My dad actually suggested that decades ago," according to PEOPLE. 

Midler didn't stop there and continued speaking out against the problematic law the following day, reports Fox News. "This isn't about guns, speech, money or war. It's about women, their lives, their bodies, and their autonomy," she explained. "That's what allowed the court to do shoddy work, with careless disregard, because who's going to stop it? They only did the thing in the dead of night, without care or effort, because they believe women are so used to being gaslit that of course, they'll just tolerate it. They did the thing in the dead of night without care or effort because they genuinely believe that they’re only women, and they deserve what they get."

The Texas Heartbeat Act, which came into effect on Tuesday after midnight, prohibits abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. In doing so, it completely cancels out the rights of Roe v. Wade as the six-week window is too early for someone to even know that they are pregnant. What's more shocking, it has no exceptions for victims who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest. Instead of appointing government authorities, the law gives private citizens the right to sue abortion clinics that are suspected of performing illegal procedures. Everyone who helps, including the person who drives the pregnant mother for the procedure or even the one who pays for it, will be penalized. If their lawsuit is successful, citizens making the claims will be awarded a minimum of $10,000. It is currently known as the most restrictive abortion law in the country. 

"Why do #antivaxxers and #antimaskers get to live the 'my body, my choice' life, but pregnant women are not allowed to," asked Midler. "How is this fair?  Some say it's Texas' way of keeping black and brown women poor. I say it's also because they want WHITE women to keep replenishing the stock." In a follow-up tweet, she wrote, "The cruelty of the #GOP is endless. We are suffering COVID-19, hurricanes, apocalyptic flooding, wildfires from hell, joblessness, homelessness, evictions, racial strife, and they pick this hideous time to pile on yet another shock to women, by taking away their right to choose."

As soon as the law went into effect, President Joe Biden expressed his disapproval saying that it "blatantly violates the constitutional right established under Roe v. Wade and upheld as precedent for nearly half a century." He continued that the law will "significantly impair women's access to the health care they need, particularly for communities of color and individuals with low incomes and, outrageously, it deputizes private citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone who they believe has helped another person get an abortion, which might even include family members, health care workers, front desk staff at a health care clinic, or strangers with no connection to the individual."

Before the bill became a law, abortion providers made efforts to stop it from going into effect. They argued that it "would immediately and catastrophically reduce abortion access in Texas, barring care for at least 85 percent of Texas abortion patients (those who are six weeks pregnant or greater) and likely forcing many abortion clinics ultimately to close." But Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett voted in the majority to stop the emergency block and allowing the law to remain in effect. 

References:

https://people.com/health/bette-midler-advises-women-refuse-sex-with-men-protest-texas-abortion-law/

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bette-midler-women-refuse-to-have-sex-men-texas-abortion-law-protest 

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