Her tweet came days after Georgia became the fourth state in the U.S. this year to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.
Actress Alyssa Milano got people riled up on social media with a tweet Friday night, calling for women to join her in a sex strike to protest strict abortion bans passed by Republican-controlled legislatures.
Actress Alyssa Milano ignited social media with a tweet Friday night calling for women to join her in a sex strike to protest strict abortion bans passed by Republican-controlled legislatures.
The former star of Charmed and Melrose Place urged women in her tweet to stop having sex “until we get bodily autonomy back.” Her tweet came days after Georgia became the fourth state in the U.S. this year to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant.
“We need to understand how dire the situation is across the country,” Milano told The Associated Press on Saturday. “It’s reminding people that we have control over our own bodies and how we use them.”
She noted that women have historically withheld sex to protest or advocate for political reform. She cited how Iroquois women refused to have sex in the 1600s as a way to stop unregulated warfare. Most recently, she noted that Liberian women used a sex strike in 2003 to demand an end to a long-running civil war.
Milano received support from fans and fellow actress Bette Midler joined her in also calling for a sex strike with her own tweet. But both liberals and conservatives also lampooned her idea, with conservatives praising her for promoting abstinence and liberals saying she was pushing a false narrative that women only have sex as a favor to men.
Milano said the criticism didn’t bother her and that her tweet was having her desired effect, “which is getting people to talk about the war on women.”
She said she fears one of the laws could eventually be decided by the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court, which Republicans hope will overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
“That is absolutely horrifying to me,” Milano said. “Anyone who is not completely and totally outraged by this and doesn’t see where this is leading, I think is not taking this threat seriously.”
Milano said people have to determine for themselves how long the sex strike should last. For her part, she hasn’t decided yet how long she will forgo sex.
“I mean I don’t know,” she said. “I sent a tweet last night I haven’t really thought much past that this morning.”
Late Saturday afternoon, Milano tweeted her intention to write an op-ed about the sex strike. “Can’t wait for you all to read,” she said. This further ignited social media, with users expressing a wide variance of reactions.
Left-wing actress and singer Bette Midler called on Georgia’s women to “stop having sex with men” in response to the Peach State’s passage of a “Heartbeat” bill that bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
“I hope the #womenofGeorgia stop having sex with men until these indignities are overturned,” Bette Midler said.
The law, dubbed the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act (HB 481), prohibits abortions in the state after a heartbeat is detected, usually at about six weeks of pregnancy. Cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger are exceptions to the law.
I hope the #womenofGeorgia stop having sex with men until these indignities are overturned.41.1K10:02 AM – May 11, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy9,012 people are talking about this
Midler echoed fellow actress and political activist Alyssa Milano’s call for women to abstain from sex with men via a “sex strike,” claiming, “Our reproductive rights are being erased.”View image on Twitter
Our reproductive rights are being erased.
Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy.
JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back.
I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on.43.3K10:40 PM – May 10, 201959.1K people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy
In March, assorted Hollywood activists including Ashley Judd and Mark Ruffalo joinedAlyssa Milano’s effort in threatening Georgia with a boycott prior to the “heartbeat” bill being signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp (D-GA).
MORE! Thank you @JasonWGeorge, @SigmanStephanie, @OfficialMolina, @LauraDern, @ZoeKravitz, @EvaLongoria, @LenaWaithe, @TessaThompson_x, @RJonesNews, @LauraBellBundy, @TraceeEllisRoss, @kerrywashington for standing up for women and telling @BrianKempGA that #HB481IsBadForBusiness1,5193:55 PM – Mar 31, 20192,634 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy
Midler’s opposition to Georgia’s “heartbeart” law joins other Hollywood-based political reactions, including three film companies pledging to boycott Georgia as long as the law remains on the books. David Simon’s Blown Deadline Productions, Killer Films CEO Christine Vachon, and Mark Duplass have vowed to boycott the state.
In 2018, Midler fantasized about President Donald Trump and his family being hanged “good and high” in a tweet celebrating the Robert Mueller-led operation. “Trump Trump Trump Bob Mueller’s marching, Trump Trump Trump And here is why Trump Trump Trump He’s gonna hang you Hang the fam’ly GOOD AND HIGH!” she wrote.