Viral TikTok trend pushes to support Roe v. Wade, bodily autonomy
Posted May 7, 2022 11:52 am.
Last Updated May 7, 2022 12:18 pm.
Editor’s Notes: This article contains sensitive subject matter that may be triggering to some readers.
Thousands of users on TikTok, the video app, are posting videos following the “KEEP YOUR LAWS OFF MY BODY” trend, amid word the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade.
Users are racking up millions of views with the new trend that aims to display personal traumatic sexual experiences that have led to abortions.
On Monday, Politico posted what was labelled as the first draft of an “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The Supreme Court has voted to strike down Roe v. Wade, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito and obtained by POLITICO.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito writes. https://t.co/nl3JFLx9xg
— POLITICO (@politico) May 3, 2022
Now, many people are taking to social media to show how legal abortions have allowed them to safely terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
One TikTok user who goes by the username Totallyheather90, posted “Have you ever been roofied to wake up and find out the whole baseball team took turns on you while you were blacked out?” The quote is followed by large text that writes, “Keep your laws off our bodies.”
@thatstotallyheather I told my boyfriend I wanted to wait until marriage, but instead he held the camera during the abuse. I’m lucky the morning after pill worked. #keepsupporting #keepyourlawsoffmybody #feminist #prochoicewithheart #womenpower #prochoiceisprowomen #independent
The trend has people around the world posting videos to the song Vent by Baby Keem, describing their personal experiences with legal abortions.
Michelle Fortin, executive director at Options for Sexual Health, a group that offers sexual health care, information, and education in B.C., says those who can get pregnant don’t appear to have much power in the current system, adding she fears more future decisions will be made by politicians — especially men.
“I guess I still struggle with the idea that anybody, other than the person who’s pregnant, has any input on what the choice of that person might be. I think that, as a society, it is our responsibility to provide as many supports and opportunities for people so that they aren’t put in this position,” said Fortin.
Fortin says she’s troubled by some of the decisions being made by lawmakers south of the border, adding, “the laws that we are seeing being perpetrated by predominantly white, cis, heterosexual men in positions of power will continue.
As social media grows to play a major role in activism, many are using it as a way to publicize their personal experiences and how rescinding legalized abortion would directly impact them.
Another user posting to the trend, Muslimegan writes, “Have you ever been raped in the forest at only 15-years-old?” followed by text that reads, “Keep your laws off my body!”
https://www.tiktok.com/@muslimegan/video/7094687671779429638?_t=8S7RzqACRGv&_r=1
A decision to overrule Roe would have sweeping ramifications, leading to abortion bans in roughly half the states, sparking new efforts in Democratic-leaning states to protect access to abortion, and potentially reshaping the contours of this year’s hotly contested midterm elections.
Twenty-six states are certain or likely to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, according to the pro-abortion rights think tank the Guttmacher Institute. Of those, 22 states already have total or near-total bans on the books that are currently blocked by Roe, aside from Texas. The Texas law banning it after six weeks has been allowed to go into effect by the Supreme Court due to its unusual civil enforcement structure. Four more states are considered likely to quickly pass bans if Roe is overturned.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have protected access to abortion in state law.
– With files from the Canadian Press
