Reese Witherspoon, Cher, and Hillary Clinton lead backlash to Roe v Wade abortion leak

Roe v Wade is a 1973 landmark court case that set a precedent in the US to legalize abortion and establish the government's responsibility to protect a woman's right to choose.

Although this case has been the focal point of the legislation in the US that protects women's reproductive rights and their autonomy over their own bodies, a leak from the Supreme Court has revealed that this national right to abortion could be overturned.

US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who is 72 years old and has been a Supreme Court Justice for 16 years, wrote in a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion, "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start" and "must be overruled".

This has sparked concern from a number of people in the US, and some celebrities and women's right activists have used their platform to discuss why the overruling of Roe v Wade would be a mistake.

Reese Witherspoon addressed the Supreme Court as she said on Twitter, "Hey SCOTUS. Let Roe Vs. Wade stand. You did it in 1992. Stare Decicis. This has been decided."

In a passionate post, singer Cher said on Twitter, "REPUBLICANS MAY HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN THEIR WISH.AFTER 49 YRS GOP SUPREME COURT POISED 2 STRIKE DOWN ROE V WADE. MY MOM SAID,”WHEN I WAS YOUNG,I HEARD, “KEEP EM BAREFOOT & PREGNANT,”A WOMANS PLACE IS IN THE HOME”, “WOMEN DONT HAVE ’S 4 BUSINESS”. "DEATH DUE 2 BACK ALLY ABORTION.”

Barack and Michelle Obama also took to social media to share a passionate speech about this issue.

In the statement, the couple said, "Think of any of the hundreds of thousands of women each year who deserve the dignity and freedom of making a decision that is right for their bodies and their circumstances. You might be one of those people. Or you might know some of them by name. If you don’t ask yourself if you everyone’s whole story."

Singer Halsey also took to social media to take a stand, "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."

Singer Phoebe Bridgers even took to Instagram to reveal that she has had an abortion herself. "I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour. I went to planned parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves this kind of access." 

Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who recently stitched the names of women she admires into her Met gala gown, also took to social media to defend Roe v Wade.

"Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights," began Hillary. "An extreme wing of the Supreme Court may seek to deny that fundamental truth. They may try to force their views on a country where 70% of people want Roe upheld. We will not be quiet and we will not go back."