Actress Alyssa Milano calls for sex strike to protest abortion laws

Alyssa Milano has called for women to join her in a sex strike to protest strict abortion bans
Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

Actress Alyssa Milano sparked a fierce debate on social media by calling for women to join her in a sex strike to protest strict abortion bans.

"Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy," the former Charmed star tweeted.

She urged women to stop having sex "until we get bodily autonomy back".

It comes days after Georgia became the fourth US state this year to make abortion illegal as soon as a foetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Milano noted that women have historically withheld sex to protest or advocate for political reform.

"We need to understand how dire the situation is across the country," she said.

"It's reminding people that we have control over our own bodies and how we use them."

She cited how Iroquois women refused to have sex in the 1600s as a way to stop unregulated warfare. Most recently, she noted that Liberian women used a sex strike in 2003 to demand an end to a long-running civil war.

Milano received support from fans and fellow actress Bette Midler joined her in also calling for a sex strike.

However others criticised the idea, with some saying she was pushing a false narrative that women only have sex as a favour to men.

Conservatives poked fun at it, praising her for promoting abstinence.

Milano said the criticism didn't bother her and that her tweet was having her desired effect, "which is getting people to talk about the war on women".

She said she fears one of the laws, which are expected to be challenged in the courts, could eventually be decided by the conservative-leaning US Supreme Court, which Republicans hope will overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade decision legalising abortion.

"That is absolutely horrifying to me," Milano said. "Anyone who is not completely and totally outraged by this and doesn't see where this is leading, I think is not taking this threat seriously."

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