Celebrities and activists are speaking out against the new law, which was passed after the Supreme Court did nothing to prevent it from happening.
Alyssa Milano and Kelly Rowland were two of many celebrities to voice their outrage at Texas’ new abortion law, which went into effect on Wednesday September 1. The law prevents women from getting abortions, if they are over six weeks pregnant, according to NBC News. The law also allows people to sue abortion providers, if they’re discovered to offer services to women over six weeks pregnant. The Insatiable actress directed fans to a donation link to help Planned Parenthood.
Unsurprisingly, the law was challenged by abortion providers, and it got as far as the Supreme Court, but the Republican-majority SCOTUS did nothing, which allowed the law to go into effect on Wednesday, via CNN. Due to the inaction, many people have wondered what the new Texas law could mean for the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which made a woman’s right to an abortion a federal law. University of Texas Law School professor Steve Vladeck told CNN that the justices “have let the tightest abortion restriction since Roe v. Wade be enforced for at least some period of time,” by not acting.
Local Planned Parenthood branches have spoken out against the legislation and vowed to fight back. “Every day that S.B. 8 is in effect, our patients are in jeopardy. Draconian laws like S.B. 8 do not stop people from needing abortion, and they don’t stop abortion from happening — by eliminating safe and legal options, they only force it underground to potentially devastating consequences,” Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast CEO and President Melaney A. Linton said in a statement received by HollywoodLife. “No one’s life or future should be at the mercy of any court simply because they happen to live in a state where anti-abortion extremists are in power. This cruel and dangerous law will cause irreparable harm to our patients and the communities we serve. We deserve to live in a world where every person is free to control their own bodies and determine their futures, and Planned Parenthood will not stop fighting until we do.”
Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas CEO and President Ken Lembrecht also vowed to continue to try to help Texas patients get the reproductive healthcare they need in a statement received by HollywoodLife. “No one should be forced to travel hundreds of miles to another state for health care yet, starting today, that is what our patients will have to do to access an abortion safely in a health care setting. We will do everything we can to support the patients we serve in Texas and stand up for their right to access health care safely,” he said.
Alyssa called on followers to continue to fight for reproductive health, and she also shared a link for fans to donate to Planned Parenthood. “The time to fight for our reproductive health & rights is now,” she wrote. Emmy Rossum shared the same tweet as Alyssa. While on the subject, Planned Parenthood (and Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas) also condemned the new law in a pair of tweets. “We aren’t backing down and are still fighting. Everyone deserves access to abortion,” the organization wrote, along with the hashtag #BanOffOur Bodies. “This ban is ridiculous and it’s part of a RECORD number of abortion restrictions passed this year. We’ve declared today a Day of Action — because it’s on all of us to step up and fight for reproductive freedom. “
Many people voiced their anger at the Texas legislators that passed the new abortion law. Spotting the national importance, Jameela Jamil tweeted that national news should be covering the law. “Why is the mainstream media not FRANTICALLY covering what is happening in Texas tonight regarding #RoeVWade?” she asked. The Good Place actress also retweeted posts from the American Civil Liberties Union and The Nation justice correspondent Elie Mystal. Before the law went into effect, Will & Grace star Debra Messing also showed her anger with a series of emojis directed at Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins. Gabrielle Union quote-tweeted Mother Jones editor Clara Jeffrey who mocked the irony of Republicans who will refuse to wear masks in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a health crisis, but also try to dictate what women will do with their bodies. Tennis great Martina Navratilova also shared numerous tweets about the law, including threads with more information. Shortly after the law went into effect, she called it “The white men’s Sharia Law.”
Other stars spoke about the new law from a personal point-of-view, and some even volunteered help to those who might need it. Westworld actress Shannon Woodward, 36, also tweeted her disgust at the new law, and noted that her roots were in Texas. “It is not safe to be a woman in Texas. I come from a long, long line of Texas women. This is tragic,” she wrote. One Tree Hill star Hilarie Burton Morgan also warned about the implications that the law could have. “They’re coming for you if you have a miscarriage. All it takes is a neighbor ‘reporting’ you,” she wrote. Comedian and radio personality Dana Goldberg also wrote that she’d happily help any ladies in the Lone Star state who needed a ride to California to receive treatment.
Naturally, politicians and journalists were some of the most vocal in discussing the law’s implications. MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow described the law as a “bizarre, dystopian vigilante system for hunting women in Texas who seek abortions,” on her show on Wednesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the Supreme Court for not blocking the “radical law” and called it “an all out effort to erase the rights and protections of Roe v Wade.” Former New York Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley referenced the abortion legislature as well as new voter restriction laws Texas has passed, and called them both ” the real war against freedom.” New York Congressman Mondaire Jones pointed to the court’s inaction and called for the Supreme Court to be expanded. “By refusing to take action before the clock struck midnight, the far-right Supreme Court effectively overturned Roe V. Wade,” he wrote. “This isn’t hypothetical — our fundamental rights are being snatched away from under us.”