Last week, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade — the court’s landmark 1973 judgment that made abortion a constitutional right — in a 6-3 vote. The decision will transform the lives of women in America as it will impose near-total bans on abortion in about 26 states, and women seeking the same will be increasingly subject to criminal penalties.
The decision led to a worldwide uproar with many people criticising the US’ apex court for taking away women’s autonomy. Amid this, a video clip of late Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 1993 has gone viral where she can be seen supporting abortion rights.
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“This is something central to a woman’s life, to her dignity. It’s a decision that she must make for herself. And when government controls that decision for her, she’s being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices,” she said.
Ginsburg added that abortion rights are “essential to women’s equality with men”. “If you impose restraints that disadvantage her, you are disadvantaging her because of her sex,” she said.
Following the ruling, several celebrities have also come forward to share their abortion stories with people, extending their support to women who will be massively affected by the law. Ireland Baldwin posted a TikTok video on Sunday, where she recounted getting pregnant with her then-boyfriend’s baby. The model added that they were “very unhappy” and that he did not want a family.
“I chose to get an abortion because I know exactly what it felt like to be born between two people who hated each other,” she said.
Similarly, calling the ruling “a huge setback in history,” Meadow Walker revealed her decision of getting an abortion in 2020. “In 2020, when the world was collapsing during the pandemic, I sought an abortion. It is a very private and personal experience — the way it should be,” she wrote on Instagram.
Walker added, “Banning abortion doesn’t prevent abortion, it prevents safe abortions.”
Following the ruling, American dancer and television host Cheryl Burke took to Instagram to share that she got an abortion at the age of 18. “If it wasn’t for places like Planned Parenthood, I would be a mother — and I wouldn’t have been a great mother and I definitely wouldn’t be sitting here with you today,” she said.
Burke added that she has no regrets about her decision and is in a happy place today. “The whole process is traumatic, and the fact that now you’re making it illegal for us women to make this decision about our own bodies is absolute insanity.”
Phoebe Bridgers, too, had opened up about getting an abortion as the news of the possible overturning of Roe v Wade gained momentum in May. “I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour. I went to planned parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access,” she had tweeted.
I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour. I went to planned parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access.
Here’s a big list of places you can donate to right now. https://t.co/jT0sk6CeNX
— traitor joe (@phoebe_bridgers) May 3, 2022
In September last year, actor Uma Thurman had recounted her abortion as a teen against Texas’ ban on abortions in an opinion piece for The Washington Post.
Calling it her “darkest secret,” she revealed that she was “accidentally impregnated by a much older man” in her late teens and, thus, decided to terminate her pregnancy. Thurman added that she was sharing her personal experience “in the hope of drawing the flames of controversy away from vulnerable women on whom this law will have an immediate effect”.
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