COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A curious sight greeted lawmakers at the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday: A hoard of red-cloaked women in white bonnets staring silently downward.
The demonstration was the latest in a series around the country protesting bills that aim to decrease access to abortions. The costumes are borrowed from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian feminist classic The Handmaid’s Tale, which was recently turned into a Hulu series. The story talks about women being reduced to "walking wombs" because they have to bear children for upper-class couples who can't conceive.
The women were protesting Ohio Senate Bill 145, which would ban "dilation and evacuation," the most common method for second-trimester abortions.
The #OhioHandmaids are in the Ohio Statehouse to protest to #StopTheBans on abortion rights. pic.twitter.com/7r4Y9eMvvT
— NARAL ProChoice Ohio (@ProChoiceOH) June 13, 2017
SB 145 will ban the most commonly used abortion procedure in the 2nd trimester. #OHHandmaids are here to show the impact of abortion bans pic.twitter.com/GxwvM7l24j
— NARAL ProChoice Ohio (@ProChoiceOH) June 13, 2017
Just another day at the Statehouse. pic.twitter.com/R6H0RVuQaT
— (((Michael Premo))) (@MichaelTPremo) June 13, 2017