Barack Obama Calls Supreme Court Ruling An Attack On ‘Freedoms Of Millions Of Americans’

Former US President Barack Obama has criticised the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v Wade, which made abortion a constitutional right for women in the United States.

Millions of people in the US will now lose the legal right to obtain an abortion after the Supreme Court overturned the milestone 1973 legislation.

Obama, who served as US President between 2009 and 2017, denounced the ruling on Twitter today (24 June) in a statement.

"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," he tweeted to his 132.1m followers.

In a follow-up tweet, the former POTUS tagged Planned Parenthood, a healthcare clinic that carries out medical terminations, and United States of Women, an organisation that fights for the rights of women and all people of marginalised genders.

"Across the country, states have already passed bills restricting choice," he added. "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."

He also tweeted a link to an article written in response to a leaked document that suggested that the Supreme Court would vote in favour of overturning the legislation.

The article, published in May on the American website Medium, reads: "The consequences of this decision would be a blow not just to women, but to all of us who believe that in a free society, there are limits to how much the government can encroach on our personal lives."

Abortion access is expected to be reduced for around 36 million women of reproductive age in America, according to research from Planned Parenthood, a healthcare clinic which carries out medical terminations.

The Supreme Court was previously considering a case, Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which challenged the ban in Mississippi on obtaining abortions after 15 weeks. 

However, the court instead ruled in favour of the state, which effectively ended the constitutional right to an abortion.

The landmark Roe v Wade case ruling in 1973 saw the Supreme Court decide by a vote that a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy was protected by the US constitution.

The ruling gave Americans the absolute right to an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy - the first three months - but allowed for restrictions in the second trimester and for prohibitions in the third, depending on a state-to-state basis.

The Supreme Court's ruling today has sent shockwaves on social media, with foreboding warnings that America was transforming into the dystopian and totalitarian Republic of Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale. You can read more about it here.