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<h2>Women in Australia are standing up for their rights in the most badass way.</h2><p>By using #ArrestUs hashtag, Australian women on Twitter are smashing the negative stigma surrounding abortion and sharing their stories as a way to advocate for decriminalization of the procedure in New South Wales, where it is still a crime.</p><p>The #ArrestUS campaign posted their manifesto on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/arrestus/posts/106560137361059?__tn__=K-R">Facebook</a>, writing:</p><blockquote> <p>In the early 1970s eighty women declared themselves to be criminals in a national newspaper, taking out an advertisement as a provocation in the campaign to decriminalize abortion.</p> <p>Fifty years on and abortion is still technically a crime in NSW. A bill to be debated in NSW Parliament this week seeks to finally change that. Should it pass women in NSW will finally have the freedom to make our reproductive health choices without facing the challenges presented because abortion is criminalized.</p> </blockquote><p>It&#39;s hard to believe that in New South Wales, a woman and her doctor can still be imprisoned for up to a decade for an unlawful abortion. If the doctor can confirm that a pregnancy would harm the health of the woman, only then does case law allow a legal abortion. The law is up for debate and may continue <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-06/abortion-bill-protesters-clash-nsw-parliament/11386462">well into tonight</a> while many protesters fight for decriminalization.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>One of the women who started the original campaign in the 1970&#39;s, 78-year-old businesswoman, chairwoman and adviser to former prime minister Malcolm Fraser told <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ginarushton/arrest-us-campaign-nsw-abortion-crime?origin=web-hf">BuzzFeed News </a>that they felt the law was only targeting lower income women and since they were educated women of privilege, they felt confident asking to be arrested.</p><p>Now, with the internet, so much more can be done than just submitting an ad. The new legislation calls for abortion to no longer be considered a criminal offense and would allow legal abortions by registered doctors for up to 22 weeks.</p><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">50 years since women took out an ad calling for their arrest because they had abortions. Abortion is still a crime in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NSWpol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NSWpol</a>. Now is the time for it to change. Today, it is time again, for those of us who can stand up and speak out to do so. One last time. We say: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArrestUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArrestUs</a>.</p>&mdash; Emily Mayo (@iamemilymayo) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamemilymayo/status/1158243664335781888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I can’t even remember the year I had an abortion but I am so thankful I was able to have it. We must be able to have abortions in NSW without being criminalised. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArrestUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArrestUs</a></p>&mdash; Lisa Bryant (@LisaJBryant) <a href="https://twitter.com/LisaJBryant/status/1158250382750961664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2011. Didn&#39;t have anyone to take me home so had to take the mifepristone option, which cost $450. I had $150 left for the rest of the year. Make it legal. Make it free. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArrestUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArrestUs</a></p>&mdash; alison whittaker (@AJ_Whittaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/AJ_Whittaker/status/1158266906068971520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2014. 23 years old and with an emotionally &amp; verbally abusive partner who left me to deal with it on my own. Grateful to the Drs who helped me circumvent the illegality of abortion and to my friends who baked me a cake afterwards. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArrestUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArrestUs</a></p>&mdash; Lani. (@energyyells) <a href="https://twitter.com/energyyells/status/1158265689058054144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">2016. My body couldn’t handle another pregnancy so close to my first. My uterus would have ruptured and I’d never have had my second child. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArrestUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArrestUs</a></p>&mdash; Amplify Magazine (@MagazineAmplify) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagazineAmplify/status/1158294528073162754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><oembed>https://twitter.com/BillablePoetry/status/1158275550311354369?s=20</oembed><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As an adoptee, when people ask me would I rather have been aborted or use my adoption to support their pro-birth rhetoric, I simply tell them that had I been aborted, I wouldn’t be around to care. It would have been my bio mothers choice as it should be. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArrestUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArrestUs</a></p>&mdash; EIea (@Juic6box) <a href="https://twitter.com/Juic6box/status/1158534907833884672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><oembed>https://twitter.com/LauraBloomify/status/1158574935859535873?s=20</oembed><div className="ad-splitter"></div><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At 21 I fell pregnant to a man who was abusing me in horrible ways. There was no way I could subject a child to him. I had an abortion. It was a wake up call and within 6 months I got away from him. That abortion might have saved my life. No regrets. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArrestUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArrestUs</a> <a href="https://t.co/XSo6yjQgLi">https://t.co/XSo6yjQgLi</a></p>&mdash; KelB 🌈 (@KelButler) <a href="https://twitter.com/KelButler/status/1158465432518459392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>Good luck with the legislation, New South Wales!</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

Australian women who've had illegal abortions are using #ArrestUs to advocate for decriminalization.

Women in Australia are standing up for their rights in the most badass way.By using #ArrestUs hashtag, Australian women on Twitter are smashing the negative stigma surrounding abortion and sharing their stories as a way to advocate for decriminalization of the procedure in New South Wales, where it is still a crime.The #ArrestUS campaign posted their manifesto on Facebook, writing: In the early 1970s eighty women declared themselves to be criminals in a national newspaper, taking out an advertisement as a provocation in the campaign to decriminalize abortion. Fifty years on and abortion is still technically a crime in NSW. A bill to be debated in NSW Parliament this week seeks to finally change that. Should it pass women in NSW will finally have the freedom to make our reproductive health choices without facing the challenges presented because abortion is criminalized. It&#39;s hard to believe that in New South Wales, a woman and her doctor can still be imprisoned for up to a decade for an unlawful abortion. If the doctor can confirm that a pregnancy would harm the health of the woman, only then does case law allow a legal abortion. The law is up for debate and may continue well into tonight while many protesters fight for decriminalization.One of the women who started the original campaign in the 1970&#39;s, 78-year-old businesswoman, chairwoman and adviser to former prime minister Malcolm Fraser told BuzzFeed News that they felt the law was only targeting lower income women and since they were educated women of privilege, they felt confident asking to be arrested.Now, with the internet, so much more can be done than just submitting an ad. The new legislation calls for abortion to no longer be considered a criminal offense and would allow legal abortions by registered doctors for up to 22 weeks.50 years since women took out an ad calling for their arrest because they had abortions. Abortion is still a crime in #NSWpol. Now is the time for it to change. Today, it is time again, for those of us who can stand up and speak out to do so. One last time. We say: #ArrestUs.&mdash; Emily Mayo (@iamemilymayo) August 5, 2019 I can’t even remember the year I had an abortion but I am so thankful I was able to have it. We must be able to have abortions in NSW without being criminalised. #ArrestUs&mdash; Lisa Bryant (@LisaJBryant) August 5, 2019 2011. Didn&#39;t have anyone to take me home so had to take the mifepristone option, which cost $450. I had $150 left for the rest of the year. Make it legal. Make it free. #ArrestUs&mdash; alison whittaker (@AJ_Whittaker) August 5, 2019 2014. 23 years old and with an emotionally &amp; verbally abusive partner who left me to deal with it on my own. Grateful to the Drs who helped me circumvent the illegality of abortion and to my friends who baked me a cake afterwards. #ArrestUs&mdash; Lani. (@energyyells) August 5, 2019 2016. My body couldn’t handle another pregnancy so close to my first. My uterus would have ruptured and I’d never have had my second child. #ArrestUs&mdash; Amplify Magazine (@MagazineAmplify) August 5, 2019 https://twitter.com/BillablePoetry/status/1158275550311354369?s=20As an adoptee, when people ask me would I rather have been aborted or use my adoption to support their pro-birth rhetoric, I simply tell them that had I been aborted, I wouldn’t be around to care. It would have been my bio mothers choice as it should be. #ArrestUs&mdash; EIea (@Juic6box) August 6, 2019 https://twitter.com/LauraBloomify/status/1158574935859535873?s=20At 21 I fell pregnant to a man who was abusing me in horrible ways. There was no way I could subject a child to him. I had an abortion. It was a wake up call and within 6 months I got away from him. That abortion might have saved my life. No regrets. #ArrestUs https://t.co/XSo6yjQgLi&mdash; KelB 🌈 (@KelButler) August 5, 2019 Good luck with the legislation, New South Wales!

Women in Australia are standing up for their rights in the most badass way.  By using #ArrestUs hashtag, Australian women on Twitter are smashing the negative stigma surrounding abortion and sharing their stories as a way to advocate for...