Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) joined the widespread and growing chorus of criticism of Alabama’s strict new abortion law as she broke down what the effective banning of the procedure is really about.
The lawmaker tweeted early Thursday that abortion bans “aren’t just about controlling women’s bodies.”
“They’re about controlling women’s sexuality. Owning women,” she wrote. “From limiting birth control to banning comprehensive sex ed, US religious fundamentalists are working hard to outlaw sex that falls outside their theology.”
“Ultimately, this is about women’s power,” Ocasio-Cortez added in a second tweet. She noted that “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,” she added.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the bill into law on Wednesday. It effectively bans abortion in almost all cases, including rape and incest. Doctors face up to 99 years in prison for performing the procedure.
Dozens of celebrities have spoken out against the law.
Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday described the law as “horrifying” in a tweet explaining just some of its consequences: