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Shock, anger, and disbelief—this is how many Americans and people all over the world feel after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortions. What this means is that states can decide, individually, whether or not to permit abortions and what restrictions to impose.

Some people see this landmark decision by the Supreme Court as taking away the right to bodily autonomy, putting people’s health in danger, and even view it as a ‘war on women’ and going back in time as far as women’s rights are concerned. Many celebrities, public figures, and average Americans have expressed their outrage and have condemned the decision, and we’ve collected some of their most powerful reactions to show you just how deeply the injustice runs.

From actors Danny DeVito and Halle Berry to singer Taylor Swift and far more, stars are loud and clear about the fact that they will not stay silent on such an important issue. Meanwhile, powerful figures such as former First Lady Michelle Obama and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders have also shared their thoughts about the decision.

Bored Panda got in touch with celebrity expert Mike Sington, who explained the importance of stars and public figures denouncing the Supreme Court's decision and the impact this might have. "Celebrities and public figures speaking out against Roe v. Wade being overturned has been very important, especially for young people. Freedom of choice has been a right granted to Americans for 50 years, so younger people don’t know what a world is like without that freedom," he told us.

The US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Here's a map showing which states have banned abortions and which ones plan to do so soon

Image credits: WorldwoutTrump

According to pop culture and entertainment expert Mike, stars we know and respect can have a major impact when it comes to sensitive, polarizing issues.

"I think it’s the sensitive issues like this that celebrities have the most impact on because it tells the public they are not alone in the feeling of despair they are having by a fundamental right being taken away," he told Bored Panda.

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Angela Turrall
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don’t forget Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett, two utterly despicable pieces of trash who aren’t old white men.

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Realistically speaking, it's very unlikely that the Supreme Court or influential politicians will change their minds about Roe v. Wade. However, this doesn't mean that speaking up against the court's decision isn't important. Quite the opposite. This might galvanize Americans to head to the polls this Fall and vote in order to protect their rights and interests.

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"The impact celebrities have will not be on the Supreme Court itself, and I don’t expect it to change the opinions of politicians either. What celebrities can do is drive people to the polls this November to actually change who the politicians are representing them," Mike said.

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"Other rights granted by the Supreme Court are now in jeopardy, so it will be important to have political representatives in place that can turn those rights into laws," celebrity expert Mike pointed out why it's essential to vote.

Bored Panda also wanted to get Mike's take on how social media has reacted to Roe v. Wade being overturned. "I’m on Twitter a lot, and I’ve seen nothing but widespread condemnation of the Court’s opinion. Polling confirms what I’m seeing on Twitter. The vast majority of Americans support a woman’s right to choose."

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Protests against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade broke out over the weekend not just in the United States but also around the world. It’s not a surprise that many people are shocked at the court’s decision: it overturned a nearly-50-year-old precedent that had made abortion legal in the US. 

Roe v. Wade refers to a case that started in 1969 when a 25-year-old woman, Norma McCorvey, using the pseudonym ‘Jane Roe’ challenged the criminal abortion laws in Texas, which, at the time, made abortions illegal except when the mother’s life was in danger. The district attorney for Dallas County, Henry Wade, defended the anti-abortion law.

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Charlie does cartwheels
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It shouldn’t come to this, but thank goodness for this bit of light in such a dark space in America’s history.

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

However when we have to decide about the woman carrying the "person" then the woman stops being a person and becomes a reproductive machine!😡😡😡😡😡😡

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Carol Emory
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had endometriosis and suffered for decades with the consequences. I was over 30 and requested a hysterectomy to stop the symptoms. The doctors refused saying I may change my mind and want more kids. I said "That's not your choice, it's mine and I don't want any more kids." They still refused. Years later when my endo hit it's peak and I was in my forties, I still got refused. How does any of this make sense. My body, my choice. What are you saving my uterus for?

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In 1973, the woman’s appeal made it to the US Supreme Court and it was then decided that abortion laws ran counter to the constitution because they infringed on a woman’s right to privacy. In short, the court ruled that governments could not prohibit abortions and that the constitution protected women’s rights to terminate their pregnancy.

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Fast forward to today and it becomes clear why so many Americans are up in arms against the overturning of this decision. Something that was a constitutionally-protected right has now become vulnerable to decisions made at the state level. Some feel as though half a century’s progress has become undone.

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that one of the dinosaurs that is responsible for this decision said that we should rethink also contraception and gay marriage proves exactly that point!

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes because a child HAS to be born but it's okay if they die a few years later because of a gun shooting at school!

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MikeWheelerFan
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When as*hole was elected, my mom knew this was going to happen. But my dad called her “hysterical”. And now he’s at a loss for words, because even though he’s very Conservative, he supports basic human rights, and never though this would happen.

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And some states are already taking steps to ban abortions there. Around half of the states are likely to introduce new restrictions or bans. Meanwhile, 13 states have already passed laws that trigger automatically to outlaw the termination of pregnancies after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

What this means in practice is that many women in the US will have to travel out-of-state for abortions or might be forced to resort to medically unsafe procedures. The cost of travel alone means that there’s a greater financial burden placed on them.

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Monday
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Medically we're considered braindead once all higher brain function has stopped too, so I'd argue that we aren't alive until we have higher brain function either.

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General Anaesthesia
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They are not conservative, they are regressive, yearning for the days when women, like slaves, were chattel.

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The Guttmacher Institute states that around 40 million women who can have children live in states where abortion rights will be restricted. The Institute’s research shows that around 860,000 abortions were performed in the US in 2019, while the Center for Disease Control (aka the CDC) puts the number at a slightly lower 630,000.

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Jack
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even if they did this, it needs to be in criminal court. Civil court makes it too hard for someone to get what is owed to them.

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According to the CDC, nearly 93% of abortions are performed during the first trimester and most women who get them are unmarried. Most women who terminate unwanted pregnancies in the US are in their 20s while 1 in 10 are teenagers.

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Suzanne Tilson
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, all those suffragettes didn't sacrifice so much and die just to see this s**t from heaven

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Suzanne Tilson
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

New rule: if you aint a woman, don't make laws on women's reproductive health, got it world

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's unbelievable that women in America have now less rights than their grandmothers!

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Whatever certain states might decide, some major companies with a lot of clout have already come out in support of women’s rights. Companies like Disney, JP Morgan, and Meta (which owns Facebook), have expressed their intent to support their staff and fund their travel expenses for abortions via health insurance plans.

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Voodoops_13
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that men don't have to think about or consider these things underlines Male Privilege. We're not anti-men when we point this out. It's supposed to make men more aware and get them to help us to achieve/maintain the same rights and privileges they enjoy.

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Jack
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m so worried for young women these days. I hope they survive physically and mentally through this b******t.

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For instance, Disney has said that it’s committed to giving employees “comprehensive access” to affordable healthcare, which includes family planning and reproductive care, no matter where the workers live. This kind of support will have a very real impact. The company employs roughly 80,000 people at its Florida resort. Meanwhile, the state’s governor has signed a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy which will take effect in just a few days, on July 1.

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Jo Johannsen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But in Texas, you can supplement your income by turning in people you suspect of having or performing abortions.

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just right now there is a case of a pregnant woman in Malta that carries a child with the placenta detached! The baby cannot be saved and her life is in danger! However until the baby's heart stop beating or she goes in sepsis, the doctors cannot do anything because it's illegal!!! All of you that support this decision just think of this story cause this is the future in America now!!! A fetus that will die anyway is more important than the woman carrying it!!!! The doctors are waiting for her to go in sepsis!!! They are literally watching her die because it's illegal to help her!!! That's the reality we are facing!!

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Charlie does cartwheels
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

🇨🇦 Thankful to be a Canadian/Australian. Body autonomy, good healthcare systems, decent minimum wage and gun control. We often take these things for granted because it all just seems so obvious… daily snippets of news from the US seem totally impossible to believe. We aren’t without our own faults or issues but the heartache for those with an ounce of intelligence and compassion over there must be so hard to cope with every single day. It’s horrifying to just even imagine, I can’t fathom actually living it.

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JP Morgan also plans to cover travel expenses for medical services which include “legal abortions.” Goldman Sachs plans to do the same. While Meta will reimburse travel expenses for those employees who travel out-of-state for abortions.

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Some other companies that have expressed similar support for their employees include publisher Conde Nast, jeans brand Levi Straus, and ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber. Meanwhile, Amazon, Yelp, and Citigroup stated that they would reimburse employees for their travel expenses.

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Jack
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a son who flat out has no respect for this decision. I told him to bring home any baby he creates so I can care for them. And when he leaves a girl, I will bill him for 18 years. He needs to have consequences too, it takes two. If he gets a girl pregnant, it’s his responsibility too. If he thinks she needs to have it, it’s his responsibility too. If you make the girl have a child she’s not ready for, you will take care of it when it’s born!

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rspanther
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And the people who are cheering on the supreme court will say that it is god's will.

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Azolane
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What a terrifying dystopian hellhole this country has come to....

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Just_a_gay_cat
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love to see how many people stand with the women of America. It's just horrible that people have to be supporting them in the first place and offering safe havens because they can't get a safe abortion.

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Carol Emory
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not even carry and give birth. A woman I worked with was pregnant and the fetus died in the womb. This was before Roe V Wade and she was forced to carry a dead baby inside her for months before it became a threat to her life and they were forced to do surgery to save her. But they had to wait until it was deemed "surgical procedure" and not "abortion" to avoid prosecution. How insane is that?

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DuchessDegu
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They don't give a flying f**k AFTER the baby is born, pro life my bumhole

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censor
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"no there is no baby formula because a woman is a mere breeding machine and must stay at home and breastfeed and comply with male oppression OBVIOUSLY" - some republicunt /s/

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YourSecretSanta
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Surprised to see Amazon, Disney and Tesla here, all things considered. Also, stupid censoring on D I C K S

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Voodoops_13
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This needs to be higher. Our shared anguish is not your political fundraiser! 😡

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Jill Rhodry
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

@Jiminy - At 6 weeks, an embryo does not have a fully formed heart. Rather, it has a cluster of cells (that eventually forms into a heart) that emits electrical signals, which can be detected on an ultrasound. The heartbeat “sound” on an ultrasound is actually generated by the ultrasound machine itself during this time period.

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Jill Pulcifer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And as long as we allow the status quo we will never have them. Look at what happened to Bernie in the primary.

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Wilf
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sadly, a number of Tory MPs, some of them sitting as ministers, have been on record as wanting to restrict abortion rights in the UK. People say "It's the USA, it's none of our business". But IT IS. Where the radical right of America leads, the radical right in the UK follows. The one thing this ruling teaches the world is that rights are never "settled". Progress is not inevitable. You have to fight for basic rights and dignity every single day. Because there is always somebody willing to take them away. And it's always a bloody Tory.

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