Alabama made history this week after passing the country’s most restrictive abortion bill, essentially amounting to a near-total ban of abortion throughout the state, CNN reported.
As per the new ban, any doctors who perform an abortion will be sentenced to up to 99 years in prison.
The controversial law has made headlines especially for its exceptions, like if the mother’s health is a “serious risk” and if the “unborn child has a lethal anomaly.”
There are, however, no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
People have been quick to voice their objections to the ban with many celebrities making their opinions known.
Comedian Chelsea Handler, musician John Legend, and actress Jane Lynch are among those speaking out against the controversial law .
According to Buzzfeed News , late-night host and actress Busy Philips recently shared her abortion story and has now taken to Twitter to encourage other women to do the same using by the hashtag #youknowme.
The following are some of the thousands of stories women have shared.
This is an instance where consent was not given a pregnancy resulted.
Other twitter users responded to her story with one saying they hoped she feels free now, to which the original poster responded, “you have no idea.”
Sometimes you have to take care of yourself first.
This person had so much she wanted to accomplish before settling down to have children, and her abortion gave her the opportunity to get herself on the right track. Now she’s fighting to help other women who may need the same opportunity.
“My only regret is letting others make me feel ashamed of my choice.”
This woman has since come to believe that women shouldn’t be made to feel ashamed for deciding what to do with their own bodies and is a proud supporter of others who are in the same situation she once found herself in.
Sometimes the baby is wanted, but women are faced with an incredibly difficult decision to make.
She had to put aside her own feelings and think about her baby’s well-being, as well as the life it would have, should she carry it to term. Certainly never an easy thing for a mother to decide.
Being in a place where you aren’t financially able to support a child can complicate things.
This woman recognized that she wouldn’t be able to give a second baby the life and opportunities it deserved with her financial state at the time. Bringing another baby into her home would have likely affected her 1-year-old’s life and well-being as well.
Desperation and a difficult situation can make some people turn to dangerous solutions.
The unfortunate reality is that abortion laws won’t stop abortions – they’ll simply stop legal abortions, leaving the potential for other women to end up in this same dangerous situation.
This woman recognized that she wouldn’t be a fit mother for her unborn child.
She also emphasizes that whatever she decides is ultimately her own decision, whether that be to have an abortion at 18 or to ever become a mother after the fact.
Some people are simply terrified of the prospect of having a baby.
For this woman, her age definitely played a factor in her fear. Being so young and suddenly faced with such a grown up responsibility, like raising a child, would terrify any girl.
For some women, it just wasn’t the right time to start a family.
Over 30 years since making her decision as a teenager back in 1983, this woman now has a big family to love and that’s all there is to it.
This woman realized that if she wanted to be able to give children a good life, she would need to make a big decision.
She didn’t want to bring a baby into the world and jeopardize her own chances at having a career while not being able to support her baby.
Time to set the record straight.
This woman wanted to clear up any misconceptions some people might have about women who get abortions – everyone’s reasons are different, and not everyone pursues abortions simply because they “don’t like children.”
This woman’s partner was the one who made her get an abortion.
She explained there were circumstances, particularly due to her mother’s ailing health, that made her want to keep the baby. But her abusive partner forced her into the abortion.
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“These new abortion laws would throw me in jail, but not him,” she powerfully ends the tweet.
h/t: Buzzfeed
