When “Six Weeks” Is Actually Two: Understanding Periods Is Essential to Fighting Abortion Bans

There continues to be a visible, troubling disconnect in our collective literacy of the menstrual cycle—especially vis-à-vis the way we frame early pregnancy and abortion. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spoke to the press about S.B. 8, the new law that all but obliterates the right to abortion in the state, saying, “[O]bviously it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion.” He is 100 percent wrong.