Public figures and Hollywood stars are expressing their outrage over a monumental alteration to women’s rights in the United States.
On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, putting an end to federal protections of abortion rights that started in 1973. The decision puts abortion laws up to the state level; many expect about half of U.S. states will ban abortion, the Associated Press reports.
Barack and Michelle Obama each shared their own stunned perspectives on the matter, with the former president calling the move an attack on “the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.”
Michelle posted a lengthy letter addressing the “horrifying” turn of events that have left her “heartbroken,” noting what a major step back the decision marks.
“This is what our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived through, and now we are here again,” her statement said. “The horrifying decision will have devastating consequences.”
Taylor Swift shared the former first lady’s post, writing that she is “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.”
