Since news broke of the official overturn of Roe v. Wade—eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion—countless high-profile celebrities and public figures have spoken out and made their positions on the issue clear.
On June 26, award-winning journalist Jessica Yellin facilitated a meeting with Meghan Markle and Gloria Steinem, where the three discussed what the SCOTUS decision means for women, how it affects other protective laws, and what can be done moving forward.
Markle, a long-time vocal advocate for women’s rights, and Steinem, a political activist in the American feminist movement, became acquainted in 2020 after Markle’s invitation to help make ‘thank you’ calls to voter registration organizers during the height of the coronavirus pandemic and shelter-in-place measures.
The two have since been working together to get the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ratified, which would “explicitly extend to women the rights granted in the Constitution to men,” Yellin told Vogue. “The ERA would change the playing field for women’s reproductive rights, women’s workplace rights, and so much more. For decades Steinem has been advocating for its enactment, and now Meghan is joining in.”
During the in-depth discussion shared with the outlet, Yellin confronted many stark statistics, asking the tough questions along the way.
To open the dialogue, Gloria Steinem transparently divulged her own abortion story, revealing that her “life would’ve stopped there” had she been unable to receive it. “I was working as a waitress in London waiting for my visa to India, where I had a fellowship. I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” she said of her former pregnancy.
Related: What the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade Decision Actually Means for Abortion Rights
Yellin asked the Duchess of Sussex to explain the weight of what the overturn means for women who live in states where trigger laws have already gone into effect.
“This is having a very real impact on women’s bodies and lives starting now. Women are already sharing stories of how their physical safety is being put in danger,” Markle responded.
She continued: “Women with resources will travel to get an abortion, those without might attempt to give themselves one at tremendous risk. Some will have to source abortion pills from unregulated pharmacies. Others who are pregnant and find themselves in a medical emergency will be at the mercy of doctors and lawyers to determine if a procedure that is needed to save her life can even be done at all. What does this tell women? It tells us that our physical safety doesn’t matter, and as a result that we don’t matter. But we do. Women matter. And this is one of the reasons that I called Gloria immediately. Because in all of it, she reminds me that when you have anger, you have to channel that energy into something that makes a difference. That’s what activism is. It’s about how we show up.”
Steinem then offered a reality check on one reason as to why the situation has gotten to this point. “A big part of the problem, of course, is that we have a Supreme Court that does not represent the country,” she commented, adding, “Perhaps because I’ve been here longer, which means I’ve been here before, I say we are going to do what we need and wish to do.”
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Continuing the moderation of the eye-opening conversation between the two activists, Yellin brought attention to alarming rates of maternal and infant mortality in underserved communities among specific demographic groups—pointing out that across the US, Black women are three times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy or childbirth, and Black infants have twice the mortality rate of their white counterparts.
“These issues are systemic, interconnected, and preventable,” Markle responded. “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.”
Steinem offered her own experience with witnessing the related racial inequalities in her own activism work. “When I first entered into this struggle for reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right, it was the 1970s,” she recalled. “Ruth Ginsburg was with the ACLU and she sent me to Alabama to talk with a Black woman who had been sterilized without her knowledge or permission when she went into the hospital for something else entirely. So, you know, this was a struggle with quite a few state legislatures to keep them from allowing the sterilization of women who were on public support.”
Related: Selena Gomez Urges Men to Get More Involved in Light of Roe v. Wade Overturn
She continued: “There is a proportion of this country that is well aware that the first generation of babies who are majority babies of color has already been born. And that means that the country could and would become a country where people of color are the majority. Then we’ll look more like the rest of the world. But if you’re a white racist, it’s obviously frightening. So the same forces that were in favor of the forced sterilization of women of color on welfare are now frequently against abortion.”
On what can be done moving forward, Steinem says becoming inclusive by putting women on an equal playing field is a start. “We are the only democracy in the world that doesn’t include women in its constitution. I think we should put big billboards up in every airport where people arrive from other countries saying, ‘Welcome to the only democracy in the world that doesn’t include women.’ Maybe that would embarrass people into action,” she said. “All the necessary states have ratified [the ERA], and it just needs acceptance in Congress. So if the president made it a priority, it could happen. It means that we would be on the same standing of inclusiveness as every other democracy in the world.”
The trio continued to discuss the state of current politics and how it relates to their own personal experiences, and Markle suggested that though men are sometimes left out of the conversion, they have a huge place and responsibility in this whole ordeal.
“Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large. They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us,” she said, adding of Prince Harry, “My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too.”
She went on to express that the Duke’s reaction to the news was “gutteral,” just like hers.
“I entered this conversation feeling disoriented by the new reality—anxious that there is no clear path forward. Opponents of abortion built so much infrastructure over so many years. How can that be answered quickly, and how many lives will be destroyed in the meantime?” Yellin said. “For now, some women will be denied basic life-saving medical care because of a power struggle in a dysfunctional political system. But after this conversation, I was reminded that change starts with simple actions—and deadly setbacks sometimes precede transformational change.”
Next, here’s how the SCOTUS overturn affects abortion pills.
