Megan Rapinoe calls for new abortion movement after US Supreme Court’s ruling

Megan Rapinoe has condemned the US Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion and called for a movement to help raise awareness.

The court overturned the landmark ruling of Roe v Wade, dating back to 1973, which protected a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion. This is likely to lead to bans on abortions in roughly half of US states. 

Rapinoe, who has long been a leading activist regarding human-rights issues, is among those to speak out against the decision. 

Speaking to reporters, ahead of the US Women’s National Team’s fixtures against Colombia, Rapinoe summed up her disappointment. 

“It’s hard to put into words how sad a day this is for me personally, for my teammates, for all of the people who are out there who this is going to affect,” she stressed.

“We know that this will disproportionately affect poor women, Black women, Brown women, immigrants, women in abusive relationships, women who have been raped, women and girls who have been raped by family members — [or] who, you know what, maybe just didn’t make the best choice.

“It will completely exacerbate so many of the existing inequalities that we have in our country. It doesn’t keep one single person safer, it doesn’t keep one single child safer, certainly, and it does not keep women safer.

“We know that the lack of abortion does not stop people having abortions, it stops people from having safe abortions.

“I would encourage people to understand all of the different aspects that overturning Roe v Wade will have on everyone in the entire country.

“I just can’t understate how sad and how cruel this is.”

Rapinoe took to Twitter to call for a new viral movement similar to the #metoo hashtag, which helped raise awareness for victims of sexual assault. 

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