Demonstrators, Some in Handmaid's Tale-Style Garb, Protest Texas Abortion Bill

Abortion rights advocates rallied at the Texas state capitol on Tuesday, May 23, to protest a bill that would limit some types of the procedure. Some were seen dressed to resemble characters from the television series The Handmaid’s Tale.

The bill that passed the Texas House on Friday would ban a type of late-term abortion and regulate the handling of fetal remains, according to reports. It would also ban the donation or sale of fetal tissue from an elective abortion.

The Texas Senate will need to review changes the House made to the bill before anything heads to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for signature.

The Handmaid’s Tale TV series, based on the book of the same name, tells of a world in which women are subjugated, not allowed to work, own property, control money, or read. There is widespread infertility, and the fertile women, called handmaids, are conscripted to bare children for the ruling elite.

Abortion rights groups have dressed as handmaids as part of protests against the proposed bills regulating abortion in Texas. A group from Whole Woman’s Health can be seen in this video dressed as handmaids, chanting “shame.” Credit: Whole Woman’s Health via Storyful