Iskra Lawrence calls Texas abortion ban an ‘attack on women’s rights,’ says she didn’t know she was pregnant until nearly 9 weeks along
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Iskra Lawrence says she was on contraception – and had been for almost nine weeks – when she and her partner Philip Payne found out they were pregnant. (Photo: Gonzalo Marroquin / Getty Images for American Eagle)
Iskra Lawrence talks about the doubts and fears she felt after becoming unexpectedly pregnant just a year after dating her partner Philip Payne. According to a new Instagram post from the UK-born, Austin-based model, who was using contraception at the time, she didn’t find out about the pregnancy until she was nearly nine weeks old – following controversial new Texas law that bans abortions from six Weeks she would have made the termination illegal.
“I had no idea I was pregnant,” said Lawrence, capturing one of a series of recordings she and Payne took after six, seven and eight weeks of pregnancy. While the couple welcomed a son in April 2020, she admitted they wrestled over whether they were ready to become parents.
“I didn’t know until almost nine weeks after my pregnancy,” wrote the body positivity proponent. “This is completely normal.”
She admitted that the surprise pregnancy shook her at first and wrote, “I didn’t feel ready and I used contraception. We weren’t married and I thought everything I had built for myself and my family might fall apart. Philip saw how upset and scared I was and lovingly calmed me down. “
Ultimately, they decided to keep the baby – “although I hadn’t imagined we’d be pregnant after a year in our relationship, we knew we wanted to,” she said – but Lawrence found not every woman in her situation would have a choice or would have the resources to make it possible in the first place.
“I have had the privilege of financial security, home security, and the support of not only a loving partner but my family as well,” she continued. “Our baby coming into our lives is the greatest blessing and I dream of a world where this could be everyone’s reality, but … This is not everyone’s story. And no one, especially men, has the right to tell women what to do with their bodies. “
The story goes on
She added, “There are so many reasons women need or want an abortion from mother’s death to abusive relationships, or simply don’t have the financial resources to feed and raise a child, and women need access to abortions and that is your decision. What? What we need to do is better access to contraception and education about it, and sex and reproductive education … What we do know is that abortions will still happen, but they will not be safe. This is an attack on women’s rights. “
Lawrence urged her supporters to donate to organizations including Planned Parenthood, Avow, the Texas Equal Access Fund, the Lilith Fund, and the Texas Choice Fund, which are working to lift the “misogynist and racist” ban in their adopted country.
Lawrence isn’t the only Texas resident to disapprove of the anti-abortion law. Last week his Austinite colleague Brooklyn Decker called Governor Greg Abbott and other lawmakers when the ban went into effect.
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