Halsey joined the rising, outraged chorus of voices reacting to Politico‘s leak on Monday of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion hinting at an overturning of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that protected a woman’s right to have an abortion. “The overturning of Roe V Wade will mark a catastrophic shift in our fundamental rights to bodily autonomy and reproductive health care. We are constituents and we have the right and responsibility to fight this,” Halsey wrote in a lengthy, passionate post in which they implored fans to speak out and fight back.
“This is one of the most significant events we will witness in our lifetimes,” she wrote, stressing that the situation is not hypothetical and that the draft was confirmed by Chief Justice John Roberts. “The effects of this decision will spiral into lethal situations for our entire country. Most seriously impacting people of color, rural areas and socioeconomically impacted communities. The time to take action is now,” they wrote.
Halsey also noted that many states have “trigger bans” that will likely go into effect should Roe be overturned, which would result in 23 states immediately banning all, or most abortions in the wake of the expected Supreme ruling. The singer implored her fans to attend local rallies, make donations to the ACLU or Abortion Funds or to local organizations fighting for a woman’s right to choose.
“I know it seems like this conversation is happening constantly and many of us have lived with the mental security that we would never witness the revocation of this right,” she noted. “I know it seems like every time we worry, it’s a false alarm. But it’s not. That security comes from people like you, people at ACLU, Planned Parenthood and more who are actively advocating to protect this right.”
Warning that this time — thanks to the three conservative justices put in place by former president Trump — it is “not a false alarm,” Halsey said that you can still access abortion in all 50 states as of now. “That will not be the case this summer when this decision is cemented and many of those who seek abortion out of state will be at risk of persecution as well,” they said, alluding to laws passed by some conservative
The singer warned that the implications of the potential overturning of the precedent-setting ruling are massive. “This is a cruel attack on our fundamental right to choose if and when to have a child,” she said. “I felt this way before I became a mother and I feel this way even more now after having my son. Pregnancy and having a child is a dangerous and life-altering experience. Though one that can be beautiful if you are consenting and desiring of it.”
They ended the note by stressing that “everyone deserves the right to choose and the right to make that choice safely.” Singer Phoebe Bridgers shared her story on Instagram on Tuesday, describing the abortion she had last October while she was on tour. “I went to Planned Parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access,” she said.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted last week found that a majority of Americans — 54 percent — think the 1973 Roe decision should be upheld, while 28 percent believe it should be overturned.
See Halsey’s full post below.
The overturning of Roe V Wade will mark a catastrophic shift in our fundamental rights to bodily autonomy and reproductive health care. We are constituents and we have the right and responsibility to fight this.@aclu@PPFA @AbortionFunds pic.twitter.com/zYlXSZqzCu
— h (@halsey) May 4, 2022
