A woman in Texas has taken to Twitter to share 11 short stories in an effort to highlight why she believes "Texas is on the wrong side of history".
Dr. Elizabeth Markowitz, a Democrat who ran for the Texas House of Representatives to represent District 28 last year, is one of the many people to voice their concerns over the southern state's new abortion law.
Known as the Senate Bill 8, the law - introduced earlier this month, bans abortion providers from carrying out terminations after the fetus' heartbeat had been detected. CNN reports that this is usually around the six-week mark - a time when many women are unaware that they are actually pregnant.
The law cites no exception for pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest. The only exception to the law is if a "physician believes that a medical emergency exists".
Dr. Markowitz has shared the following 11 stories before, but recently reshared them with her 12,500 followers after the bill had been passed. She started the thread by writing: "I reposted this over three months ago and it still holds true. Texas is on the wrong side of history. Period."
She then shared 11 heartbreaking hypothetical situations - but all of which will certainly ring true with many women out there. They are as follows...
1. "I'm pro-Juanita who found out at her 20 week anatomy scan that the infant she had been so excited to bring into this world had developed without life sustaining organs." 2. "I'm pro-Susan who was sexually assaulted on her way home from work, only to come to the horrific realization that her assailant planted his seed in her when she got a positive pregnancy test result a month later." 3. "I'm pro-Nabeeha who hemorrhaged due to a placental abruption, causing her parents, spouse, and children to have to make the impossible decision on whether to save her or her unborn child." 4. "I'm pro-little Cathy who had her innocence ripped away from her by someone she should have been able to trust and her 11 year old body isn't mature enough to bear the consequence of that betrayal." 5. "I'm pro-Melissa who's working two jobs just to make ends meet and has to choose between bringing another child into poverty or feeding the children she already has because her spouse walked out on her." 6. "I'm pro-Nhi who realizes that she is in no way financially, emotionally, or physically able to raise a child." 7. "I'm pro-Emily who did IVF, ending up with SIX viable implanted eggs requiring selective reduction in order to ensure the safety of her and a SAFE amount of fetuses." 8. "I'm pro-Jessica who is FINALLY getting the strength to get away from her physically abusive spouse only to find out that she is carrying the monster's child." 9. "I'm pro-Vanessa who went into her confirmation appointment after YEARS of trying to conceive only to hear silence where there should be a heartbeat." 10. "I'm pro-Anjaly who lost her virginity in her sophomore year with a broken condom and now has to choose whether to be a teenage mom or just a teenager." 11. "I'm pro-Courtney who just found out she's already 13 weeks along, but the egg never made it out of her fallopian tube so either she terminates the pregnancy or risks dying from internal bleeding."Dr. Markowitz concluded her thread by writing:
"You can argue and say that I'm pro-choice all you want, but the truth is: I'm pro-life.
"Their lives. Women's lives.
"You don't get to pick and choose which scenarios should be accepted."
She adds: "It's not about which stories you don't agree with. It's about fighting for the women in the stories that you do agree with and the CHOICE that was made.
"Women's rights are meant to protect ALL women, regardless of their situation!"