Former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, showed her disagreement on Friday, June 24th, with the Supreme Court‘s decision to annul the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which recognized a woman’s constitutional right to abortion.
“I am heartbroken for the people of this country who have just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies“, she said in a text posted on her social media.
“We are now destined to learn the painful lessons of a time before ‘Roe v Wade’ became the law of the land – a time when women risked losing their lives by having illegal abortions. A time in which the government denied women control over their reproductive functions, forced them to go through with pregnancies they didn’t want, and then abandoned them once their babies were born“, she said.
My thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/9ALSbapHDY
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) June 24, 2022
In her message, she also referred to adolescents who will not be able to finish their studies, mothers who will not be able to interrupt unviable pregnancies and doctors who will not be able to perform abortions without the risk of going to prison.
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“When we don’t understand our history, we are doomed to repeat their mistakes. (…) This horrible decision will have devastating consequences“, she said.
Michelle called on young people to fight to change this decision and assured that “if they give up now, they will inherit a country that does not resemble any of the values ​​in which they believe“.
Barack Obama, for his part, described the Court’s decision as an attack on fundamental freedoms. He said it “not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues“.
Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 24, 2022