Women rise up against new US abortion laws as #YouKnowMe
Politicians and celebrities share harrowing stories and express their anger and disbelief at some states’ new draconian and punitive abortion laws
London — Celebrities revealed their abortion stories and ordinary Americans stood up to be counted as a backlash against tough new US abortion laws gathered pace on Thursday and a social media campaign went viral. The online campaign to protect access to abortion followed moves by Alabama and other US states to heavily restrict a woman’s right to end her pregnancy, a perennial battleground in US politics and touchstone of modern feminism. Galvanised by the threat, movie stars divulged their own painful stories, warning against any return to backstreet abortions or men legislating over women’s bodies. On social media, hundreds of ordinary Americans answered a call by talk show host Busy Philipps to share stories and “end the shame”. Philipps launched the hashtag #youknowme aimed at showing how common it is for women to end their pregnancies. “One in four women have had an abortion. Many people think they don’t know someone who has, but #youknowme,” she wrote in a post on Twitter. One...
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