‘Fetal heartbeat bill’: Celebrities stand with Texas women
Hollywood actors, musicians and celebrities hit out Thursday at a new law in Texas that bans nearly all abortions in the conservative US state. Reese Witherspoon, Eva Longoria Baston and P!nk were among those criticising the “fetal heartbeat bill”, which outlaws abortions beyond around six weeks - before many women even know they are pregnant.
“It’s pretty simple. We should all be able to make decisions about our health & future,” tweeted Desperate Housewives star Longoria Baston.
Under the hashtag #BansOffOurBodies, actress and producer Reese Witherspoon tweeted: “I stand with the women of Texas who have the Constitutional right to make
decisions about their health and their own bodies.”
Singer P!nk said: “I stand in solidarity with people in (Texas) who, as of today, face an
extreme 6-week abortion ban.
The celebrity reactions were among a flood of responses after the United States Supreme Court declined to block the bill
at the eleventh hour.
The Texas law makes no exceptions for rape or incest. The only exception is if there is a danger to the woman’s health.
While similar laws have passed in a dozen Republicanled conservative states, all had been stymied in the courts. Prochoice advocates say the refusal of the Supreme Court to step in to block the bill imperils rights that have been enshrined in US law since a landmark 1973 case.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling overnight is an unprecedented assault on a woman’s constitutional rights under Roe vs Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost fifty years,” President Joe Biden said.
The law in Republican-dominated Texas is particularly controversial because it allows members of the public to sue doctors who perform abortions, with medics liable for up to $10,000 for each procedure they perform. Abortion is a touchstone issue in the United States, provoking strong responses on both sides.