Prominent conservative Twitter users criticized what they called "narcissistic" and "grotesque" tweets from an abortion activist bragging about reading her nieces bedtime stories from a children’s book on abortion.
It all started on April 11 when Gov. Ron DeSantis' spokesperson Christina Pushaw highlighted a tweet from last May from pro-abortion author and activist Renee Bracey Sherman. The tweet featured illustrations from a book titled, "What’s an Abortion Anyway?", intended to teach kids about the benefits of abortion. Sherman's old tweet stated, "I love talking to kiddos about repro stuff, including abortion."
According to the book's website, it "is a medically accurate, non-judgmental, and gender-inclusive resource for young folks about abortion care."
"This is what some Democrats want taught in your kid's school," Pushaw tweeted in a thread, accompanied by an image of the book’s text which said, "People of All Genders Have Abortions."
Pushaw also highlighted a comment by the book's creators saying, "Adults have felt really affirmed by the book as well," and tweeted, "Not everything needs to be ‘affirmed.’"
The DeSantis administration has made parental involvement in what their children are taught in public schools a priority, recently passing the Parental Rights in Education bill.
Abortion rights advocates gather outside the Oklahoma Capitol on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Oklahoma City, to protest several anti-abortion bills being considered by the GOP-led Legislature. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)
Sherman posted a response to Pushaw's tweet, which featured a photo of her holding up the book next to her two little nieces asleep in their bed. Sherman wrote, "Wait til she finds out this has been our family’s bedtime story on our vacation this week as my niece loves this book and reads it to her little sister every night."
"Our family was created by abortion, adoption, and parenting decisions. I love our family," Sherman added, before plugging the book's website.
Pro-life conservatives on Twitter jumped in to admonish Sherman and blast the abortion book.
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National Review writer Alexandra DeSanctis slammed Sherman and the public school system together in her response, tweeting, "People like this are reason #2940 why parents and not public schools should be deciding what little children need to learn."
Conservative writer and commentator Erielle Davidson tweeted, "Two Americas are emerging: one that lets kids be kids, the other that repurposes children to be affirmation factories for adults. This won’t end well."
In subsequent posts, Davidson added that Sherman’s tweet was "really narcissistic" and "grotesque," adding that the activist’s tweet was evidence that "modernity sucks."
FILE - In this Wednesday, May 22, 2019, file photo, Beck Gerritson, president of Eagle Forum of Alabama, speaks at an anti-abortion rally outside the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. Even as the anti-abortion movement celebrates passage of sweeping bans in several states, a rift is widening between activists who oppose exceptions for rape and incest, and other abortion opponents, including many Republican politicians, who support those exceptions. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler, File)
Conservative podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey explained the irony inherent in Sherman’s post, tweeting, "The funny thing about all these tweets saying they’re ‘educating’ their kids about abortion is that the book actually doesn’t explain what an abortion is at all. It doesn’t even say what pregnancy is. It says 'the pregnancy goes away.’ No mention of a baby at all."
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