Heartbroken Olivia Rodrigo pauses mid-concert to talk abortion rights: 'We can raise our voices'

Olivia Rodrigo took a strong stance in support of abortion at her concert in Washington, D.C., this week. Days after a leaked draft opinion revealed the Supreme Court is preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the "Drivers License" singer paused mid-concert to make a passionate case for abortion. "I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk about how heartbroken I am over the Supreme Court's potential decision to overturn Roe v. Wade," said Rodrigo, the 19-year-old singer who's on her Sour Tour, reported Harpers Bazaar. The crowd cheered and applauded the young singer's stance.  "When a woman tells us her body should never be in the hands of politicians. I hope we can raise our voices to protect our right to have a safe abortion, which is a right that so many people before us have worked so hard to get," she said before adding, "It's so important." 

Many states are already imposing strict anti-abortion laws at the state level. Roe v. Wade is the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case that protects a person's right to an abortion. Overturning Roe v. Wade at the federal level could see conservative majority states ban abortion or enforce harsher anti-abortion laws to control women's bodies. The leaked document published by Politico is an opinion not a final position of the court, but it certainly indicated the direction the court was willing to go in to overturn Roe v. Wade as had been long suspected. "Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case," said the court in a statement, according to The New York Times. Justice Samuel Alito wrote, "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled." Many protested in front of the Supreme Court, which erected a huge "unscalable" fence outside its building.   
 

Many celebrities have spoken out against overturning Roe v. Wade. Singer Phoebe Bridgers shared her abortion story in the wake of the leak. "I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour," she wrote in an Instagram story. "I went to planned parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access." Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks also opened up, stating she had an abortion in 1979. “If I had not had that abortion, I’m pretty sure there would have been no Fleetwood Mac,” she told The Guardian. “There’s just no way that I could have had a child then, working as hard as we worked constantly. And there were a lot of drugs, I was doing a lot of drugs … I would have had to walk away.” Actor Jameela Jamil took to Twitter to share her story. “I had an abortion when I was young, and it was the best decision I have made. Both for me, and for the baby I didn’t want, and wasn’t ready for, emotionally, psychologically, and financially. So many children will end up in foster homes. So many lives ruined. So very cruel.”

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader announced that the U.S. Senate will vote next week on legislation to codify abortion rights into federal law. The legislation is unlikely to pass but it will force senators to take a stance on the matter and it will be on record. Democrats have a bare majority in the Senate but Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have proven obstacles to the party's actions. "Next week’s vote will be one of the most important we ever take because it deals with one of the most personal and difficult decisions a woman ever has to make in her life," said Schumer, reported The Guardian. "Come next week, Senate Republicans will have to answer for everything they’ve done over the years to embolden the hard right’s hostility against a woman’s choice. The vote will tell next week. America will be watching."