Former first lady Michelle Obama on Friday said she was “heartbroken” by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, doing away with the constitutionally protected right to abortions.
In a statement, Obama said she was “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 the time before Roe was made law of the land — a time when women risked losing their lives getting illegal abortions,” Obama said.
“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.”
The former first lady added she was “heartbroken” for the many people that this ruling will affect, such as teens who will be unable to finish school, mothers with nonviable pregnancies that will have to bring them to term and healthcare workers who cannot provide care without risking penalties or jail time.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority reversed nearly 50 years of precedent on Friday by overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Several states with trigger laws in place have already moved to effectively ban nearly all abortions.
Obama called the decision a “horrifying” one that will have “devastating consequences,” and added that it “must be a wake-up call” for younger generations.
“I know this is not the future you chose for your generation — but if you give up now, you will inherit a country that does not resemble you or any of the values you believe in.”
She called on people to channel their “frustration and anger” into action and encouraged them to get involved with organizations like Planned Parenthood and The United States of Women.
Obama’s husband, former President Obama, also lamented the decision, writing on Twitter that the court had “relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.”