Viola Davis, Olivia Wilde, Amy Schumer, Zendaya and Hillary Clinton are among the stars reacting after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, ending the constitutional protections for abortion.
The ruling was announced earlier today, giving individual states the power to set their own abortion laws.
A protest erupted outside the US Supreme Court after the decision was announced.
In the final opinion, Alito wrote that Roe and Planned Parenthood v Casey, the 1992 decision that reaffirmed the right to abortion, were wrong and must be overturned.
‘The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by constitutional provision,’ Alito wrote.
‘Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. ‘Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.
‘And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.’
Celebrities around the world have spoken out against the decision, sharing their fears for what this will mean in the future.
Viola Davis called for people to continue to fight harder after the overturn was announced.
‘And so it goes,’ she tweeted, sharing an article over the announcement. ‘….Gutted.
‘Now more than ever we have to use our voice and power! WE the people……’
Amy Schumer used her profile to share a post by Bans Off Our Bodies, as Alyssa Milano tweeted: ‘Today’s Supreme Court ruling overturning #RoeVsWade will have deadly consequences, with the harm falling hardest on people of color who already face disproportionate discrimination in our country and grapple with a severe maternal mortality crisis.
‘If abortion is banned nationwide, pregnancy-related deaths could increase 21 percent nationwide, and 33 percent among Black women.
‘Banning abortion will disproportionately impact people of color, LGBTQ+ communities, people struggling to make ends meet, young people, and those living in rural areas.
‘Banning abortion is about controlling women and trans men. It is about white supremacy, the patriarchy and misogyny. It’s a sad day for America.’
Michelle Obama shared her ‘heartbreak’ in a lengthy statement, posted across her social media pages.
‘I am heartbroken today,’ she began. ‘I am heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies.
‘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 how we are here again.
‘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.’
She went on to share the ‘devastating consequences’ that the ‘horrifying decision’ will have, urging people to fight to make their voices heard.
‘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,’ the former First Lady continued.
‘Our hearts may be broken today, but tomorrow, we’ve got to get up and 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.’
Olivia Wilde and Chris Evans were among those who reposted Michelle’s statement onto their own social media platforms, while Zendaya shared an Instagram post regarding the decision on her Instagram story, which read that a ‘sledgehammer was taken to reproductive healthcare’ in America.
Danny DeVito simply posted: ‘Supreme Court my ass.’
Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness raged: ‘These f**kers. This is Trump & the GOP. Forcing pregnancy on people. This is about controlling bodies and keeping people in systemic poverty for generations.
‘It’s heartbreaking that this personal medical decision has been made by people enforcing their evangelical beliefs on all of us.’
Rachel Zegler posted: ‘Why the f**k don’t you care about us? Why the f**k do you think you have any say over our bodies?’
Hillary Clinton declared the decision a ‘step backward for women’s rights’.
‘Most Americans believe the decision to have a child is one of the most sacred decisions there is, and that such decisions should remain between patients and their doctors,’ she posted.
‘Today’s Supreme Court opinion will live in infamy as a step backward for women’s rights and human rights.’
Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu said: ‘Bloody hell! America has regressed to the dark ages US Supreme Court overturns #RoeVsWade with denying the Constitution confers a right to abortion; henceforth Roe v Wade is overruled.
‘An absolute disgrace to deny women autonomy over their own bodies.’
As Barack Obama added: ‘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.
‘Across the country, states have already passed bills restricting choice.
‘If you’re looking for ways to respond, @PPFA, @USOWomen, and many other groups have been sounding the alarm on this issue for years—and will continue to be on the front lines of this fight.’
Roe’s overturning was made possible by three conservative judges appointed by former President Donald Trump.
The decision means individual states are responsible to determine how they will regulate abortions, with some leaders already exercising this.
Thirteen states have so-called trigger laws in place that take immediate effect once Roe is struck down that ban or severely limit access to abortion, and another half-dozen states have near total bands after six weeks of pregnancy.
Alternatively, 16 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws protecting the right to have an abortion even without Roe.
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