Social media was flooded with reactions Wednesday after the controversial Fetal Heartbeat Act went into effect in Texas.
The law, which the US Supreme Court refused to block in a 5/4 vote, prohibits abortions as early as six weeks, when many women still don't know they're pregnant. It also permits people to sue doctors who perform abortions and anyone who they think might seek one.
Tip lines have been created with a $10,000 bounty offered for turning in doctors, women or even people providing rides to a doctor's office.
The law, which Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor labeled as "flagrantly unconstitutional" also lists no concessions for instances of rape or incest.
Among those who took to Twitter to express their horror and disgust at this law—which President Joe Biden called an "unprecedented assault on women's rights"—was 18-year-old Texan Olivia Julianna.
If only Greg Abbott spent as much time regulating the energy grid as he does regulating my uterus.— \ud83c\udf31Olivia Julianna \ud83c\udf31 (@\ud83c\udf31Olivia Julianna \ud83c\udf31) 1630517777
The savvy Texas teen referenced the epic snowstorm which hit Texas this past February, effectively shutting down the Lone Star State's privately run power grid.
Several people applauded Juliana on her brave and biting Tweet, with many joining in to condemn Governor Abbott.
Olivia, I am so sorry that you have to face this Handmaidens Tale bs. There really are no words.— Roberta (@Roberta) 1630542612
If he values life, he should be giving food and shelter to refugee children who present to his border. Hypocrite.— nancy catania (@nancy catania) 1630523891
remember that his NOT regulating the power grid got him a $4.6 million campaign "contribution" from the same energy companies he didn't make fix the grid. Dan Patrick got like $1.5 million. The corruption is so blatant and open it's sickening! VOTE BLUE and flush the GOP.— Dave Dillon (@Dave Dillon) 1630520618
However, with Texas being the notorious red state that it is, Julianna's tweet was also met with a hefty dose of criticism.
Among those who were not supportive of Julianna's tweet was Samuel Williams who is currently running for a seat in Texas' 16th congressional district.
Williams re-tweeted Julianna's statement, calling her "uniformed"—presumably meaning, uninformed—and claimed she didn't realize the power grid is privately owned and operated.
"Here we go again an uniformed liberal that would murder a child."
"Blaming Greg Abbott for something he has no control over."
"She doesn't seem to understand that the power grid is owned and operated by private companies."
Here we go again an uniformed liberal that would murder a child. Blaming Greg Abbott for something he has no control over. She doesn't seem to understand that the power grid is owned and operated by private companies.https://twitter.com/0liviajulianna/status/1433121547494035464\u00a0\u2026— Samuel Williams (@Samuel Williams) 1630563419
Julianna fired back at Williams.
Samuel I find it funny you want to run for a #txlege seat but you aren\u2019t informed enough about the energy crisis to know that the Public utility commission that oversees ERCOT has a board that\u2019s appointed by @GovAbbott worry about your research, not about my uterus.https://twitter.com/votesamuelwill1/status/1433312983019626498\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\udf31Olivia Julianna \ud83c\udf31 (@\ud83c\udf31Olivia Julianna \ud83c\udf31) 1630563933
"Worry about your research, not my uterus."
Julianna's response to Williams was met with praise on Twitter.
Someone check on @votesamuelwill1 I think he might need some ice.— cwruan (@cwruan) 1630617374
You just experienced some elite level mansplaining. Well done for blasting that meatball into the cheap seats.— James Gill (@James Gill) 1630576563
Hey @votesamuelwill1 we heard the smack down you just got here in Oklahoma. You good brother?— Tim Berry (@Tim Berry) 1630615185
Oof. That burn was impeccable Olivia.— Cailea Hiller (@Cailea Hiller) 1630602209
But Julianna still had plenty more to say.
She shared her whole experience on TikTok.
@0liviajulianna #greenscreen #txlege #antiabbott #gregabbott #texas
In the video, Julianna said she took to Twitter after having her "bodily autonomy" taken away from her. She expressed her horror Williams was running for a "legitimate government seat" in addition to quoting all three tweets.
Julianna's TikTok video received nearly 1.5k responses in less than 24 hours.
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In a statement to The Daily Dot, Julianna—who is Mexican American—expressed she is exhausted by women being looked down upon by male authority figures in her home state of Texas.
"I'm sick of White men in Texas trying to delegitimize the education and struggle of women—especially women of color."
She also advised Williams should think about getting his act together and brush up on his research if he hopes to succeed in the upcoming congressional election.
"If you're going to run for a congressional seat maybe make sure you're informed enough about the people you want to represent that an 18-year-old freshmen in college doesn't publicly embarrass you before you even start a legitimate political career."
Williams—who is known for being highly active on Twitter—has yet to comment on Julianna's response.
But Julianna's wit and wisdom could be an early indication of a promising future for the whip-smart 18-year-old.