Iskra Lawrence calls Texas abortion ban an 'attack on women's rights,' says she didn't know she was pregnant until nearly 9 weeks along

Iskra Lawrence is speaking out about the doubts and anxiety she felt after becoming unexpectedly pregnant just a year into her relationship with partner Philip Payne. According to a new Instagram post by the British-born, Austin-based model, who was using contraception at the time, she didn't learn of the pregnancy until she was nearly nine weeks along — which, under Texas's controversial new legislation banning abortions from six weeks on, would have made it illegal for her to terminate.

"I had no idea I was pregnant," Lawrence captioned one in a series of shots taken of her and Payne at six, seven and eight weeks into the pregnancy. While the couple welcomed a son in April 2020, she admits that they wrestled with the question of whether or not they were ready to become parents.

"I didn’t know until nearly nine weeks into my pregnancy," the body positivity advocate wrote. "This is very normal."

She admitted that the surprise pregnancy initially shook her, writing, "I didn’t feel ready and I was using contraceptive. We weren’t married and I thought everything I’d built for myself and my family could fall apart. Philip saw how upset and scared I was and lovingly reassured me."

Ultimately, they chose to keep the baby — "even though I hadn’t imagined we would be pregnant only a year into our relationship we knew we wanted this," she shared — but Lawrence noted that not every woman in her situation would make that choice, or have the resources to even make that a possibility.

"I had the privilege of financial security, the safety of owning a home and the support from not just a loving partner but my family," she continued. "Our baby coming into our lives is the greatest blessing and I dream of a world where this could be everyone’s reality but… This isn’t everyone’s story. And no one, especially men, have a right to tell women what to do with their bodies."

She added, "There are so many reasons a women may need or want an abortion from maternal death to abusive relationships or simply not having the financial means to feed and raise a child Women need access to abortions and that is their decision to make. What needs to happen is greater access to contraceptive and education around it as well as sex/reproductive education... What we do know is abortions will still happen, but they won’t be safe. This is an attack on women’s rights."

Lawrence urged her followers to donate to organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Avow, the Texas Equal Access Fund, the Lilith Fund and Fund Texas Choice, working to reverse the "misogynistic and racist" ban in her adopted state.

Lawrence isn't the only Texas resident decrying the anti-abortion law. Last week fellow Austinite Brooklyn Decker called out Gov. Greg Abbott and other lawmakers as the ban went into effect.

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