Dallas Abortion Activists Give 'A Handmaid's Tale' A Texas Twist

DALLAS, TX —It was impossible to miss the point when protesters outfitted as the concubines of "A Handmaid's Tale" showed up at Dallas City Hall on Wednesday to protest new abortion restrictions that are now the law in the Lone Star State.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 8, also known as "the Heartbeat Bill," into law in May, and took effect Thursday as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene.

Paramount among the objections of protesters is that the law bans abortion as early as six weeks into a fetus' gestation —a period when many couples and single women may be unaware they're pregnant.

See also:

• State Legislature Looks To End Legal Abortion In Texas
• 'War On My Rights': Dallas Valedictorian Blasts Heartbeat Law
• Gov. Abbott Signs Law To Outlaw Abortion If Roe V. Wade Topples

Even the nickname for the law is misleading, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said, because humans have not yet formed hearts six weeks into pregnancy.

Under provisions of the new law, a private citizen can now also sue a physician for providing an abortion — or indeed, anyone who helps a woman end her pregnancy — right down to the person who drives an expectant mother to the clinic where her procedure was carried out.

Even President Joe Biden found the Texas law — and the Supreme Court's response — worthy of his wrath. He believes “this extreme Texas law blatantly violates the constitutional right established under Roe v. Wade."

Protesters at the "Bans Off Our Bodies" demonstration included supporters of Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, or ACLU.

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