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

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

Last updated: May 16, 2019 6:21 AM

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

“1 in 4 women have had an abortion. Many people think they don’t know someone who has, but #youknowme,” Philipps wrote on her Twitter earlier today. “So let’s do this: if you are also the 1 in 4, let’s share it and start to end the shame. Use #youknowme and share your truth.”

1 in 4 women have had an abortion. Many people think they don't know someone who has, but #youknowme. So let's do this: if you are also the 1 in 4, let's share it and start to end the shame. Use #youknowme and share your truth.
— Busy Philipps (@BusyPhilipps) May 15, 2019

According to Philipps, after she told her own abortion story last week on Busy Tonight — albeit in response to Georgia’s passage of their restrictive “Fetal Heartbeat” bill — producer Tina Fey encouraged her start the hashtag.

“She said, ‘I think you hit on something, which is you know me,'” Philipps told The New York Times, though she admits that she was feeling a little too “overwhelmed” to do it right after sharing her story. “It makes it very personal.”

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 far—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. “I had an abortion when I was 15 years old, and I’m telling you this because I’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,” she said.

She went on to say that many women don’t even know they’re pregnant at six weeks, and that these “women and their doctors in the best position to make informed decisions about what’s best for them.”

Busy also shared that bills that criminalize abortion typically don’t lower abortion rates, but put women at risk as they attempt to perform abortions themselves or have them performed in unsafe environments.