Ocasio-Cortez: Abortion bans are about ‘owning women’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) blasted a series of restrictive state abortion laws on Wednesday evening, saying the recently passed measures are about “owning women.”

{mosads}“Abortion bans aren’t just about controlling women’s bodies,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “They’re about controlling women’s sexuality. Owning women.”

“From limiting birth control to banning comprehensive sex ed, US religious fundamentalists are working hard to outlaw sex that falls outside their theology.” 

Abortion bans aren’t just about controlling women’s bodies.

They’re about controlling women’s sexuality. Owning women.

From limiting birth control to banning comprehensive sex ed, US religious fundamentalists are working hard to outlaw sex that falls outside their theology.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 16, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez’s tweets came shortly after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed a controversial law banning nearly all abortions in the state, including those in cases of incest and rape.

In a follow-up tweet, Ocasio-Cortez said such restrictive measures reveal that women’s sexual autonomy “threatens a core element underpinning right-wing ideology.”

“It’s a brutal form of oppression to seize control of the 1 essential thing a person should command: their own body,” she wrote.

Ultimately, this is about women’s power.

When women are in control of their sexuality, it threatens a core element underpinning right-wing ideology: patriarchy.

It’s a brutal form of oppression to seize control of the 1 essential thing a person should command: their own body.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 16, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez has been a vocal critic of laws restricting abortion, including others that have passed Ohio and Georgia.

After the passage of the Alabama measure, she solicited donations to Planned Parenthood.

“By jailing women who only seek to exercise their right, Alabama Republicans have taken yet another step towards pushing us back into the past — in their endless quest to return women to second-class citizen status,” she said.

She was similarly critical of the Georgia legislation, which bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detectable, typically around six weeks. Earlier in May, Ocasio-Cortez noted many women are not yet aware they are pregnant at six weeks.

Missouri on Wednesday became the latest state to pass a more restrictive abortion law. The state Senate voted to ban abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy or later. The measure is expected to pass the state House and be signed by Gov. Mike Parson (R), who has voiced support for the bill, saying Missouri is  “one of the strongest pro-life states in the country.”