Days after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had made abortions a legal constitutional right in the United State in 1973, Meghan Markle shared her reaction to the alarming decision.
Speaking to and Gloria Steinem about the impact of the ruling, the Duchess of Sussex said she and her husband Prince Harry had a “guttural” reaction to SCOTUS’s decision.
“This is having a very real impact on women’s bodies and lives starting now,” Markle, an advocate for paid leave and fair labor rights for women, told Vogue. “Women are already sharing stories of how their physical safety is being put in danger. Women with resources will travel to get an abortion; those without might attempt to give themselves one at tremendous risk. Some will have to source abortion pills from unregulated pharmacies. Others who are pregnant and find themselves in a medical emergency will be at the mercy of doctors and lawyers to determine if a procedure that is needed to save her life can even be done at all. What does this tell women? It tells us that our physical safety doesn’t matter, and as a result that we don’t matter.”
Markle also emphasized the importance of men’s voices right now. “Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large,” she said. “They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us. My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too.”
Markle also noted that this is about many things, but ultimately it’s about having a choice. “Nobody should be forced to make a decision they do not want to make, or is unsafe, or puts their own life in jeopardy,” Meghan Markle said. “Frankly, whether it’s a woman being put in an unthinkable situation, a woman not ready to start a family, or even a couple who deserve to plan their family in a way that makes the most sense for them, it’s about having a choice.”
