Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday sharply criticized a new Georgia abortion law, calling it a “backdoor ban.”
Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday signed a controversial bill that would ban abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy – when many women don’t yet know they are pregnant.
Ocasio-Cortez, a freshman New York Democrat, posted on Twitter, “‘6 weeks pregnant’ = 2 weeks late on your period.”
“Most of the men writing these bills don’t know the first thing about a woman’s body outside of the things they want from it,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “It’s relatively common for a woman to have a late period + not be pregnant.”
“So this is a backdoor ban,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
Ocasio-Cortez followed up in a second tweet, saying, “For context, this kicks in within days of a typical at-home test working.”
“If you were sexually assaulted (stress delays cycle), took a morning-after pill (throws off cycle), or have an irregular cycle, you’d have no idea,” she wrote. “There are a TON of ways this law ignores basic biology.”
Currently in Georgia, women are allowed to undergo abortion procedures up to their 20th week of pregnancy. The new law will go into effect starting on January 1.
The American Civil Liberties Union says it will challenge the law in court.
Andrea Young, the executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, told CNN the law is a clear violation of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, and that the organization is in the process of preparing a court challenge to the bill.
Kemp, before signing the legislation on Tuesday, said at the state Capitol that he expects legal challenges.
“Our job is to do what is right, not what is easy,” he said. “We are called to be strong and courageous, and we will not back down. We will always continue to fight for life.”
CNN’s Alanne Orjoux, Jessica Ravitz and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.