
Kentucky Legislature just became one more in a growing line of states to pass a strict abortion ban.
Last night, the Kentucky state House passed a bill that would ban abortions after six weeks, otherwise known as a "heartbeat bill." What that means is any medical practitioner offering abortions would first have to check for a heartbeat, and if one is detected, they would not be legally allowed to perform an abortion.
As of now, there are only a few exceptions to the ban, for example, if the mother's life is in danger, but if someone is seeking an abortion because of a fetal diagnosis, the ban would stand.
The bill has now been sent to the Republican Governor Matt Bevin who will almost certainly sign it.

This so-called "heartbeat bill," is one of many that've been passed across the country in recent years.
Ohio was one of the first states to try and pass the bill back in 2011, and it's since been followed by states like Arkansas, Utah, Tennessee, Mississippi, Colorado, South Dakota and Louisiana. Similar bills have been considered by many more.
While bills of this nature are regularly being shut down in court because they're unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion lawmakers aren't pushing them through for kicks — there's a strategy behind these mounting legislations across the country.
According to the ACLU, who immediately filed a lawsuit against Kentucky's abortion ban before it even reached Governor Bevin's desk, these bills are being introduced to get a court case in front of a now conservative-leaning Supreme Court. The hope appears to be to undermine the 40 year-old law that protects a person's right to an abortion at its epicenter, thereby making abortion access extremely difficult nationwide.
However, pro-choice organizations, like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, are fighting these measures, and winning, in court. If you support reproductive rights, they need your help to keep it up.
It's easy to feel powerless when government institutions pass sweeping bans like this, but there's a lot you can do as an average citizen to make a difference.
- Support local and national reproductive rights advocacy groups.
You can also support groups that specifically make abortions more accessible, like the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF).
- Tell your abortion story on public platforms.
There's a reason the #MeToo movement has been so successful in bring sexual abusers to justice — there's power in numbers. It's may not be easy, but if you share your story on hashtags like #shoutyourabortion, you'll be in the company of so many other women hoping to normalize a human right.
- Call your legislators
Even if you live in a state that supports a person's reproductive rights, calling and making your feelings on abortion clear can help give your legislators ammunition to fight any abortion cases that take the national stage.
- Run for office and VOTE!
Look what happened when the people in this country got angry about our rights being threatened. We got a record number of women seated in the House of Representatives. We got the first openly transgender person elected to a United States statehouse.
We have the power to change things in the country, even in the direst of circumstances. All it takes is passion, a little effort, and the continued belief that we deserve better.



A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
Gif of baby being baptized
Woman gives toddler a bath Canva


An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.