Hollywood celebrities including Alyssa Milano and Bette Midler have ordered women across America to stop having sex with men until lawmakers in Georgia change an abortion law that isn’t popular with the liberal Hollywood crowd.
Calling for women to abstain from sex with men via a “sex strike,” Alyssa Milano said “Our reproductive rights are being erased” and demanded that Hollywood production companies and celebrities totally boycott Georgia since Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed the “Heartbeat” abortion bill into law.
“Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy,” she wrote. “JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back. I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on.”
The Georgia law, officially titled the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, 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.
Milano received support from some of her fans and fellow actor Bette Midler joined her in calling for a sex strike. But both liberals and conservatives also mocked the idea, with some praising her for promoting abstinence and others saying she was pushing a false narrative that women only have sex as a favor to men.
Guardian reports: 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 feared one of the laws could eventually be decided by the conservative-leaning US 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.”