People are spamming Texas anti-abortion tip site with Shrek porn memes

2 September 2021, 15:55

Student at high school in Texas takes stand against abortion bill

By Katie Louise Smith

A Texas "pro-life whistleblower" website has been spammed with Shrek porn. Yes, you read that correctly.

Internet users have been doing everything they can to spam a 'snitch' tip line that encourages Texas citizens to become "pro-life whistleblowers", following the state's new anti-abortion law. And by 'everything', we mean submitting an overwhelming amount of Shrek porn images.

On September 1st, Texas' SB 8 law, also known as the 'heartbeat bill', came into effect after the US Supreme Court failed to take action and block it. As of now, getting an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy is prohibited in the state, despite six weeks often being far too early for someone to even realise that they are pregnant.

President Biden has slammed the bill, saying it “blatantly violates the constitutional right established under Roe v. Wade” and will “impair women’s access to the health care they need, particularly for communities of color and individuals with low incomes.”

He has vowed to protect and defend those constitutional rights, while the internet has taken it upon themselves to flood the anti-abortion tip lines.

Texas anti-abortion tip line flooded with Shrek porn and memes
Texas anti-abortion tip line flooded with Shrek porn and memes. Picture: SAUL LOEB / AFP, Dreamworks via Alamy

Following the news that the bill had gone into effect, several anonymous 'snitch' hotlines have been set up by pro-life organisations. One such website that was set up in July urges people to 'help enforce the Texas Heartbeat act' by allowing them to report anyone they simply thought was aiding someone in getting an abortion outside of the bill's six-week ban.

But much like when K-pop stans used fancams to flood a Dallas Police app urging residents to snitch on people engaging in 'illegal activity' at Black Lives Matter protests, it hasn't gone to plan for the anti-abortion supporters.

Salon reports that these hotlines are now being taken over by reproductive rights advocates, Reddit users and social media users who are spamming and trolling the system.

Multiple TikToks and tweets have gone viral with people urging others to make fake reports using names of politicians who support the legislation, fake pun names like 'Mike Hawke' and, most iconic of all, Shrek porn. Yes, really. Shrek. Porn.

One viral TikTok with over 700k views (and counting) shows a false report, reading: "My wife aborted our baby 4 weeks into her pregnancy without consulting me.” It then includes quite a selection of Shrek porn images attached to it.

What is the Texas SB 8 law, also known as the Heartbeat bill?

While it's hilarious that people are inundating these kind of tip lines, the bill itself is incredibly serious, dangerous and worrying for women's reproductive rights in the US.

Texas' SB 8 law is one of the country's most restrictive abortion laws. It's been dubbed the 'heartbeat bill' because it seeks to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected. Now that it is in effect, it means that:

  • Abortion after six weeks of pregnancy is prohibited.
  • There is no exception for rape or incest, although there is an exception for "medical emergencies."
  • Private citizens are able to file lawsuits against anyone who helps someone get an abortion after six weeks, including doctors, healthcare clinic workers, a person who drives someone to get an abortion or someone who provides financial assistance.

Earlier this year, Texas teenager and high school Valedictorian, Paxton Smith, made the brave decision to go completely off-script and deliver a powerful unauthorised speech slamming the Texas bill.

"I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I’m raped, then my hopes, aspirations, dreams and efforts for future will no longer be relevant," Paxton said. "I hope you can feel how gut-wrenching it is, how dehumanising it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken from you."

Paxton's speech went viral on social media, earning praise from the likes of Hillary Clinton and more. You can read the full speech here.