Earlier this week, lawmakers in Alabama passed a bill that will ban almost all abortions in the state.
The new measure includes criminalising the procedure, meaning any doctor who carries out an abortion could face jail. The only exception to the rule would be in cases where the mother’s life is at risk. There would be no special circumstances for women who are pregnant as a result of rape or incest.
The ruling is a challenge to the widely recognised Roe v. Wade decision, a landmark case from 1973 in which the US Supreme Court declared a fundamental ‘right to privacy’, protecting a pregnant woman’s choice to have an abortion or not.
Other states, including Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky and Iowa has also recently passed similar rulings. A number of celebrities have now spoken out against these decisions.
Actor and activist Alyssa Milano, for example, called for women to go on ‘sex strike‘ until Georgia reversed its anti-abortion bill. She also wrote a letter to the state – along with other actors like Amy Schumer and Don Cheadle – and vowed to fight against the state if the law was passed.
Now, YouTuber Logan Paul is the latest high profile figure to speak out about the case, specifically the passing of the bill in Alabama.
The 24-year-old shared an image of the 25 male Republicans from the Alabama senate who all voted to ban abortion in in the state. Over each of their faces, Paul had drawn expertly illustrated dicks.
He shared the photo with his 4.87 million Twitter followers and 15.6 million Instagram fans, writing:
i took the liberty of drawing tiny dicks on the 25 male senators who voted to ban abortion in Alabama
While it may not be the most thoughtful or artistic protest, it certainly provoked a response from his legion of followers, who were divided over the issue.
One person wrote:
I actually cannot believe this. This is worse than the japan incident in my opinion. These men are trying to save the lives of babies that are being murdered. This disgusts me.
While another simply said:
Finally you do something right
Another replied:
Imagine if ur that baby being aborted.. babies are blessings should have give them a chance to experience life that you have right now!! Salute for those senators who knows to Value the miracle of life!!!
While others agreed with Logan:
Paul doesn’t often get political on social media, and a few fans called him out for doing so. And while it’s a push to call his artwork political, or artwork for that matter, it’s refreshing to see the 24-year-old use his massive platform to share a message that isn’t just self-promotion.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via stories@unilad.co.uk
Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.