Busy Philipps’ #YouKnowMe Hashtag for Women to Share Abortion Stories Goes Viral

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Busy Philipps LA Special Screening Of Annapurna Pictures' "Booksmart" - Arrivals
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Busy Philipps has asked women to share their abortion stories online. This is in response to Alabamaโ€™s passage of a near-blanket ban on abortion.

โ€œ1 in 4 women have had an abortion. Many people think they donโ€™t know someone who has, but #youknowme,โ€ Philipps wrote on her Twitter earlier today. โ€œSo letโ€™s do this: if you are also the 1 in 4, letโ€™s share it and start to end the shame. Use #youknowme and share your truth.โ€

According to Philipps, after she told her own abortion story last week on Busy Tonight โ€” albeit in response to Georgiaโ€™s passage of their restrictive โ€œFetal Heartbeatโ€ bill โ€” producer Tina Fey encouraged her start the hashtag.

โ€œShe said, โ€˜I think you hit on something, which is you know me,'โ€ Philipps told The New York Times, though she admits that she was feeling a little too โ€œoverwhelmedโ€ to do it right after sharing her story. โ€œIt makes it very personal.โ€

Busy Philipps LA Special Screening Of Annapurna Pictures' "Booksmart" - Arrivals
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The hashtag is trending and has 3,941 tweets so farโ€”all of which are from women who, like Busy, have their own abortion stories.

[irp posts=1379]

On her show, Busy revealed she had an abortion when she was a teen. โ€œI had an abortion when I was 15 years old, and Iโ€™m telling you this because Iโ€™m genuinely really scared for women and girls all over this country, and I think we all need to be talking more and sharing our stories more,โ€ she said.

Busy Philipps LA Special Screening Of Annapurna Pictures' "Booksmart" - Arrivals
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

She went on to say that many women donโ€™t even know theyโ€™re pregnant at six weeks, and that these โ€œwomen and their doctors in the best position to make informed decisions about whatโ€™s best for them.โ€

Busy also shared that bills that criminalize abortion typically donโ€™t lower abortion rates, but put women at risk as they attempt to perform abortions themselves or have them performed in unsafe environments.

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