Taylor Swift, Pearl Jam and more react as Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

“I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are"

Multiple musicians have shared their reactions to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade today (June 24).

In May, a draft opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito argued that the 1973 landmark ruling was “egregiously wrong from the start”, adding that “it is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

Though the draft was verified as authentic, it was noted at the time that draft opinions can be subject to multiple drafts and vote-trading so the court’s decision was not final.

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But now, it has been confirmed that the landmark case has been overturned, meaning abortion will no longer be protected as a federal right in the US for the first time since 1973, and each state will be able to decide individually whether to restrict or ban abortion.

Notable figures in the music industry have expressed their outrage on social media, including Taylor Swift, who shared a letter that Michelle Obama had written about the decision.

“I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are,” she wrote, “that after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that.”

Pearl Jam, meanwhile, shared a video on Instagram, alongside the caption: “No one, not the government, not politicians, not the Supreme Court should prevent access to abortion, birth control, and contraceptives. People should have the FREEDOM to choose.

“Today’s decision impacts everyone and it will particularly affect poor women who can’t afford to travel to access health care. We will stay active, we will not back down and we will never give up.”

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During their Glastonbury 2022 performance, Joe Talbot of Idles also spoke out against the decision.

“Of course, this is for every mother and every woman and her right to choose whether she is a mother or not,” Talbot said. “Long live the open-minded long live my mother and long live every single one of you.”

See more reactions below.

In May, Halsey aired a video of protest footage and facts about abortion statistics during her ‘Love And Power’ tour opener and joined the likes of Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion and Phoebe Bridgers in signing a letter denouncing the draft opinion.

Harry Styles also spoke out about the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion at the time.

Speaking to Howard Stern in an interview [per Teen Vogue], Styles said of the potential of Roe v. Wade being overturned: “I think it’s quite scary to see how far backwards we’re going in a lot of ways. There should be backlash and uproar for these things. There’s a lot of people who are taking…the right steps to try to make positive things [happen].”

He added that, in his opinion, no one “should be able to make decisions about anyone else’s body – it doesn’t really make any sense to me”. “It’s just so backwards,” he said.

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