Meghan Markle has joined a host of famous faces speaking out against the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe V. Wade ruling.
Roe V. Wade was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on January 22, 1973, in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion.
But on June 24, 2022, Roe V. Wade was overturned in America, eliminating women’s constitutional right to abortion.
This decision leaves it up to individual states to decide whether to allow abortions there, and will most likely lead to all but total bans on the procedure in nearly half the country.
The 6-3 ruling, which will completely change the landscape of women’s reproductive rights in the U.S., has sparked outrage worldwide – and many famous faces have slammed the decision online.
On Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex condemned the controversial ruling during a joint interview with American feminist icon Gloria Steinem for Vogue.
Meghan said her initial reaction to the ruling was “guttural,” and revealed how it’s already affecting women in America
“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,” she explained.
“What does this tell women? It tells us that our physical safety doesn’t matter, and as a result that we don’t matter. But we do. Women matter.”
Stressing the impact this decision will have on the Black community, the mother-of-two continued: “Women of color and especially Black women are most impacted by these decisions because most of us don’t have the same access to health care, economic opportunity, mental health resources…the list goes on.”
“It’s difficult to overstate what this decision is going to do to these communities.”
Meghan also shared her husband Prince Harry’s reaction to the ruling, as she urged men to speak out against it.
“Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large. They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us,” she said.
“My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too. His reaction last week was guttural, like mine.”
“I know that for so many women right now, there is a sentiment of despair. But again, we have to band together and not wallow. We have to do the work.”
Alongside Gloria, Meghan is currently advocating for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
During their interview, which can be read in full here, the Duchess of Sussex hinted they would be making a trip to Washington D.C. to campaign for its enactment.
