Activists in Ohio are taking their cues from Can-Lit legend Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” in their protest against a bill placing more restrictions on abortion.
Several women held a silent protest at the Ohio State Legislature dressed in red robes and white bonnets – like the characters in the novel where fertile women are captured and forced to have children.
Critics say the legislation would ban a method commonly carried out in the second trimester. Historically, Atwood has spoken out about an erosion of women’s rights under the Trump Republican Administration.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” has inspired several other protests against anti-abortion bills this year, including in Texas and Missouri.
Atwood’s novel is set in a future, dystopian America, where a violent dictatorship has been imposed and women have been stripped of all their rights.