Michelle (left) and Barack Obama.Photo: Scott Olson/Getty
“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,” the former president, 60, and first lady, 58, said in their joint statement on Tuesday.
The Obamas argued that overturning the landmark cases that affirmed the right to have an abortion in many circumstances would not actually reduce the number of abortions in the U.S. — and would instead make the procedure far more dangerous to women, particularly those without the means to travel to a state where it would remain legal.
“And this decision is unlikely to significantly reduce abortions, which have been steadily going down over the past several decades thanks in large part to better access to contraception and education,” the former first couple said. “Instead, as we’ve already begun to see in states with restrictive abortion laws, those women with means would travel to states where abortion remains legal and safe.”
Their statement continued: “Meanwhile those without enough money or access to transportation or ability to take off from school or work would face the same circumstances most women faced before Roe, desperately seeking out illegal abortions that inevitably pose grave risks to their health, their future ability to bear children, and sometimes their lives.”
As the Obama’s statement noted, abortion rates havedropped significantlyin the years sinceRoewas issued in the ’70s. But studies have found that in states where abortions are harder to obtain due to restrictive laws, maternal mortality tends to be higher.
A 2021 study published in theAmerican Journal of Public Health, for instance, found that laws limiting abortion access “may contribute to risk of maternal death” both directly and indirectly. That’s due at least in part, according to the study, to women seeking illegal abortions, often at greater danger to themselves.
The study also found wide racial disparities in maternal death in those states with restrictive abortion laws, with non-Hispanic Black women “more than 2 to 3 times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication than non-Hispanic White women.”
Elsewhere in their statement on Tuesday, the Obamas noted that “a clear majority of Americans supportRoe.” (Galluppollsestimated in May 2021 that 58% of Americans do not want to see the law overturned while Pew Research Center released that same monthfound59% of adults believe abortion should be legal in most cases.)
“Stand with them at a local protest. Volunteer with them on a campaign. Join with them in urging Congress to codify Roe into Law. And vote alongside them on or before November 8 and in every other election.”
Their statement was released hours afterPoliticopublisheda draft opinion leakedfrom the Supreme Court and originally circulated in February showing that the justices seem likely to overturn the precedents about abortion access.
The draft, which the Supreme Court confirmed is authentic, is not expected to be finalized for weeks and could change during that time.
Chief Justice John Roberts announced on Tuesday that he had started an investigation into the source of the leak.
source: people.com
