Barack and Michelle Obama Call For Protests Over Roe v. Wade: Overturning Puts Women at Mercy of ‘Politicians and Ideologues’

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Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama called for protests Tuesday, a day after a controversial leak from inside the Supreme Court appeared to show it is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.

POLITICO obtained a reported draft order authored by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, which reads in part:

Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.

Chief Justice John Roberts has ordered an investigation to find who leaked the draft letter. Roberts also said the order is not a final decision by the court.

His words did little to quell anger on the left, where the backlash against the prospect that the landmark 1973 decision to legalize abortion nationwide might be overturned has been fierce.

The Obamas issued a joint statement Tuesday afternoon in which they decried such a move.

“Today, millions of Americans woke up fearing that their essential freedoms under the Constitution were at risk,” the couple wrote. “If the Supreme Court ultimately decides to overturn the landmark case of Roe v. Wade, then it will not only reverse nearly 50 years of precedent — it will relegate the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues.”

The statement added women do not approach the decisions to get an abortion lightly. The order, as written and leaked, “forces folks to give up any constitutionally recognized interest in what happens to their body once they get pregnant,” the couple argued.

The statement continued by saying women affected by state-level rules on terminating pregnancies would affect poor women.

“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,” the statement reads.

The Obamas added:

A clear majority of Americans support Roe. Yet we recognize that while many are angry and frustrated by this report, some of those who support Roe may feel helpless and instinctively turn back to their work, or families, or daily tasks —telling themselves that because this outcome may have been predictable, there’s nothing any of us can do.

If that’s you, we ask you to think about the college student waking up after her date forced her into unprotected sex. Think about the couple that tried to have children for years, who are without any options when faced with the tragic reality of an unviable pregnancy. 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.

“But we’re not asking you to just think about these people,” their statement concluded. “We’re asking you to join with the activists who’ve been sounding the alarm on this issue for years —and act. Stand with them at a local protest. Volunteer with them on a campaign.”