“Our pleasure, pain, can you hear a heartbeat? Our work for us to decide, can you hear a heartbeat? Our hearts are strong, lives are long, and our voices will rise. We are the women of the world. We give life to this earth.”
Singer Anita Aysola and the Resistance Revival Chorus flip the narrative put forward by anti-abortion lawmakers in the new song “Heartbeat,” which was released today in response to legislation that threatens women’s reproductive freedom.
“In 2019, a heartbeat bill was signed, banning nearly all abortions in the state of Georgia,” the artists wrote when they uploaded the video to YouTube. “’Heartbeat’ is a tribute to the hopes, power and humanity of women as we unite to stop attacks on our rights and freedoms across the country.
The song comes on the heels of extreme anti-abortion legislation not just in Georgia, but in states across the country—including Alabama, Louisiana and Ohio. With a voice soaked with frustration but rooted in resolve, Aysola asks lawmakers: “Liberty is weeping, can you hear a heartbeat?”
In the video for “Heartbeat,” Aysola and the Chorus are shown singing in relative darkness, sometimes overlaid against images from Women’s March protests across the country. The visual statement acknowledges the despair of the current moment—and the urgency of activism as a form of optimism.
“Women watching, can you hear a heartbeat?” Aysola asks. “Daughters watching, can you hear a heartbeat? Mothers rising, can you hear a heartbeat? The whirlwind is coming.”
