The author of The Handmaid’s Tale has plenty to say about anti-abortion laws

We couldn’t agree more.

The author of The Handmaid’s Tale – the book and latterly TV series in which women and are persecuted – has compared anti-abortion laws to a “form of slavery”.

Margaret Atwood was speaking at a book conference in New York when during a Q&A session a man addressed the issue of reproduction rights – highlighting that it’s “virtually impossible for a woman to get an abortion in the state of Texas”.

And the 77-year-old Canadian was emphatic in her response, saying that anti-abortion legislation leaves women dead and children orphaned.

She continued: “Who is going to pay for the orphans and the dead women? Because that’s what you’re going to have. And I’m waiting for the first lawsuit. I’m waiting, you know, in which the family of the dead woman sues.”

Ms Atwood furthermore explained: “And I’m also waiting for a lawsuit that says if you force me to have children I cannot afford, you should pay for the whole process. They should pay for my prenatal care.

“They should pay for my, otherwise, very expensive delivery. You should pay for my health insurance. You should pay for the upkeep of this child after it is born.”

She added: “It is really a form of slavery to force women to have children that they cannot afford and then to say that they have to raise them.”

Margaret went on to state: “If you’re drafted into the army, the other situation in which the state seizes control of your body, at least you get three meals a day, clothing, and a place to sleep. So, if you’re going to do that to women, pay up.”

In the dystopian The Handmaid’s Tale the fictional authoritarian regime of Gilead forces women bear the burden of society’s fertility issues, while male infertility is either ignored or dealt with in secrecy.