Royals
Meghan Markle Calls On Men "To Be Vocal" In The Aftermath Of Roe v. Wade Ending
“Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large.”
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn settled law Roe v. Wade and restrict federal abortion access did not go unnoticed by longtime feminist Meghan Markle. The Duchess of Sussex spoke to Vogue about her reaction to the catastrophic blow to women’s rights, and of course she is not taking it lightly.
Meghan sat down with fellow feminists Gloria Steinem and Jessica Yellin to discuss, among other issues, the significance of Roe v. Wade being overturned. The Duchess of Sussex, who shares 3-year-old son Archie and 1-year-old daughter Lilibet with husband Prince Harry, brought up an excellent point about men being an important part of the conversation when it comes to reproductive rights and safe abortion access.
“Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large,” Meghan told Vogue. “They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us. My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He's a feminist too.”
In fact, Prince Harry’s reaction to hearing the news of Roe v. Wade being overturned was “guttural,” Meghan told Vogue, “like mine.”
Meghan has been very vocal about issues like paid family leave and fair labor rights for women since returning to the United States after exiting her senior royal role in 2020. Last October, she even wrote a letter to Congress urging them to consider the importance of paid family leave based on her own experience as a new mom. Now, Meghan is voicing her concern about the impact of Roe v. Wade on women across the country, most especially women of color who will be impacted much more severely,
“These issues are systemic, interconnected, and preventable,” Meghan told Vogue. “Women of color and especially Black women are most impacted by these decisions because most of us don’t have the same access to health care, economic opportunity, mental health resources…the list goes on. It’s difficult to overstate what this decision is going to do to these communities.”
As a woman who experienced a miscarriage, Meghan understands how important it is to have open conversations about things that “affect our bodies,” she told the magazine. “I know what miscarrying feels like, which I've talked about publicly. The more that we normalize conversation about the things that affect our lives and bodies, the more people are going to understand how necessary it is to have protections in place.”
The Duchess of Sussex, using her platform to speak for women who might well be silenced otherwise.
