#BansOffOurBodies: Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo among others slam US top court after abortion ruling

Many celebrities and famous personalities took to social media and condemned Roe v Wade reversed ruling

The US top court, last week, overturned the landmark ruling in Roe v Wade, which banned legal abortion in the country. Since the ruling has been passed, many celebrities and famous personalities took to social media and strongly condemned the said verdict. 

The former first lady, Michelle Obama, in her statement, wrote how the decision has left her “heartbroken."

My thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/9ALSbapHDY

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) June 24, 2022

She penned, “So yes, I am heartbroken – for the teenage girl, full of zest and promise, who won’t be able to finish school or live the life she wants because her state controls her reproductive decisions; for the mother of a nonviable pregnancy who is now forced to bring that pregnancy to term; for the parents watching their child’s future evaporate before their very eyes; for the health care workers who can no longer help them without risking jail time."

Grammy-winning singer, Taylor Swift, shared her two cents on the matter as well.

I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are - that after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that. https://t.co/mwK561oxxl

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 24, 2022

“I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are — that after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that,” the All Too Well singer, 32, wrote via Twitter, shortly after the decision was announced.

Like many other celebrities, singer Phoebe Bridgers has been an outspoken advocate for reproductive rights. After the leaked opinion made headlines last month, the Motion Sickness singer shared her own experience of having an abortion via Twitter.

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

“I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour,” she wrote at the time. “I went to Planned Parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access.”

Padma Laksmi, who has also been a vocal proponent of women’s rights, echoed those comments in a series of Twitter posts. “People will still get abortions,” she wrote on social media. “These procedures won’t stop just because Roe v. Wade is overturned. This will only prevent safe, legal abortions from taking place.”

Olivia Rodrigo, who rose to fame with her heartbreak anthem, Driver's License, performed at the Glastonbury Festival in England on Saturday, in which she sang Lily Allen’s F--k You alongside the British musician. “I’m devastated and terrified,” Rodrigo said, per social media footage. “I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have shown us that at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a s–t about freedom.”

Billie Eilish shared her thoughts at the same festival. “Today is a really, really dark day for women in the US,” the Happier Than Ever musician said during her Glastonbury set. “I'm just going to say that because I can't bear to think about it any longer.”

Singer Pink, too, shared her thoughts on it. "Let’s be clear: if you believe the government belongs in a woman’s uterus, a gay person's business or marriage, or that racism is okay — Then please in the name of your lord never listen to my music again. And also, f--k right off. We good?" she tweeted on Saturday. "They will never end abortion. Only safe abortion," the One Tree Hill alum wrote via Twitter. "This is not about life. It’s about control."

She went on to add, "I am enraged. What happened today is not only a disgusting step backward for women - undermining our ability to make decisions for our own bodies… but it’s also dangerous. You didn’t ban abortion, you banned access to safe abortion. #BansOffOurBodies"

Halle Berry shared, "I’m outraged! What the supreme court has done is bullsh*t. Something has to be done! Guns have more rights than women. Stop this war on women and keep your laws off of our bodies. We have to ban together and not accept this! We can’t just post about it, we must do something about it."

Alicia Keys wrote while retweeting President Obama's comments on the decision. "This decision is about more than abortion, it’s about who has power over you, who has authority to make decisions for you, and who is going to control how your future turns out," the No One singer shared. 

Mark Ruffalo commented, "This nation was founded on the separation between church and state. The Supreme Court has now been made illegitimate by the destruction of that separation and turned into a political organ of the religious right. We are going to have to fight for the founding principles of our nation."

Backstory

The US Supreme Court last week took the dramatic step of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that recognised a woman's constitutional right to an abortion and legalised it nationwide, handing a momentous victory to Republicans and religious conservatives who want to limit or ban the procedure.

The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority, upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The vote was 5-4 to overturn Roe, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing separately to say he would have upheld the Mississippi law but not taken the additional step of erasing the Roe precedent altogether.

The justices, in the ruling written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, held that the Roe decision that allowed abortions performed before a fetus would be viable outside the womb - between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy - was wrongly decided because the US Constitution makes no specific mention of abortion rights.

By erasing abortion as a constitutional right, the ruling restored the ability of states to ban it, fundamentally altering America's landscape on the issue of reproductive rights. Twenty-six states are either certain or considered likely to ban abortion. Mississippi is among 13 states with so-called trigger laws to ban abortion with Roe overturned.

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