Michelle Obama has expressed her heartbreak over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
On Friday, just moments after the Supreme Court’s ruling eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in the US, the former first lady shared a statement condemning the decision.
“I am heartbroken today. I am heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their bodies,” Ms Obama wrote. “I am heartbroken that we may now be destined to learn the painful lessons of a time before Roe was made law of the land - a time when women risked losing their lives getting illegal abortions.
“A time when the government denied women control over their reproductive functions, forced them to move forward with pregnancies they didn’t want, and then abandoned them once their babies were born.
“That is what our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived through, and now here we are again.”
In the statement, Ms Obama said that she is heartbroken for those who will be impacted by the overturning of the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right, such as 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,” or the “mother of a nonviable pregnancy who is now forced to bring that pregnancy to term”.
The former first lady also acknowledged the implications the decision will have on healthcare workers, who may risk jail time if they help those seeking abortions.
However, Ms Obama then highlighted the importance of continuing to advocate and fight for human rights, and why feelings of helplessness must not prevent us from doing so.
“When we don’t understand our history, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes,” Ms Obama wrote. “In this country, our futures are tied together in a delicate tapestry that we each have a hand in making. Too often cynicism or indifference makes us feel like we don’t have a say in weaving it, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“The more we allow pessimism to push us further into helplessness, the less we will be empowered to help create the kind of country we want to live in.”
While Ms Obama acknowledged that the Supreme Court’s “horrifying decision” will have “devastating consequences,” she said it must act as a wake-up call, especially to those who will “bear its burden”.
“This moment is difficult, but our story does not end here. It may not feel like we are able to do much right now, but we can. And we must,” she continued, before encouraging those who are angry and frustrated by the decision to channel those feelings into action by “getting involved” with organisations helping women such as Planned Parenthood or The United State of Women.
The first lady concluded the statement recognising that, while “our hearts may be broken today,” tomorrow must be used to “find the courage to keep working towards creating the more just America we all deserve”.
“We have so much left to push for, to rally for, to speak for - and I know we can do this together,” she wrote.
Following Friday’s decision to overturn the 1973 landmark case and subsequently allow individual states to make their own abortion laws, former president Barack Obama also shared his disappointment with the ruling, which he said attacks “the essential freedoms of millions of Americans”.
“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,” Mr Obama wrote.
The former president also acknowledged that states across the country have already started “restricting choice,” as 13 states have trigger laws banning abortion that will go into effect now that Roe v Wade has been overturned, while the Guttmacher Institute projects 26 states are “certain or likely to ban abortion”.
Mr Obama then shared resources for those looking to “respond,” before acknowledging that, although “we’ve known this day was coming,” it doesn’t “make it any less devastating”.
You can find a list of abortion funds and pro-choice organisations to donate to and support here.
