Two weeks ago, Emily Ratajkowski bared all to make a passionate statement against the recent anti-abortion law passed in Alabama, which is set to ban abortions at any stage of pregnancy in the state, except if the pregnant person's life is in danger. It makes no exceptions for cases of incest and rape.
Ratajkowski told ELLE.com at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic on Saturday that she had been thinking of speaking out on this issue for some time.
'For me, this is something that’s been a long time coming, something I’ve been working toward for a long time and thinking about,' she said.
'And when I saw what was going on in Alabama, and now Missouri [Editor's note: Missouri's only abortion clinic is at risk of closing, and if it does, Missouri would be the only state in the country without abortion access since Roe v. Wade was decided] and across the country, it felt like it was a really important moment to use my platform and just stay consistent with what my messaging and belief is.'
Ratajkowski's Instagram got over 2 million likes and 31,000 comments. It was also picked up by many outlets, from The Daily Mail and Fox News to InStyle and Huffington Post. Was the response to her naked political statement what she expected? 'Yeah, which was lots of hate,' Ratajkowski told ELLE.com.
Ratajkowski believes that the best way to convince men to care more about women's reproductive rights is to remind them it affects them, too. 'I think it takes that two people to make a baby, and it’s really important to remember that,' Emrata said. 'Even though it’s a woman’s body, men should be held responsible in the same way.'
When Ratajkowski posted her Instagram, she was among the many people outraged by the bill and its design to act as a challenge to Roe v. Wade, the long-standing Supreme Court decision that protects one's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion under the 14th amendment. Ratajkowski wrote in her Instagram:
This week, 25 old white men voted to ban abortion in Alabama even in cases of incest and rape. These men in power are imposing their wills onto the bodies of women in order to uphold the patriarchy and perpetuate the industrial prison complex by preventing women of low economic opportunity the right to choose to not reproduce. The states trying to ban abortion are the states that have the highest proportions of black women living there. This is about class and race and is a direct attack on the fundamental human rights women in the US deserve and are protected by under Roe vs. Wade. Our bodies, our choice.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
