Friday morning’s U.S. Supreme Court announcement that they had decided to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade opinion that the U.S. Constitution protects a pregnant woman’s choice to have an abortion has been met with significant immediate response by many Nashville-based musicians.
Names including Joy Oladokun, Margo Price, husband and wife Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, plus Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini and Taylor Swift, posted on social media to offer opinions on the impactful news.
Oladokun and Price’s caustic statements arrived earliest.
Oladokun has been a very vocal pro-abortion advocate, most recently participating in Third Man Records’ ROCK FOR ROE virtual concert and text-a-thon, which raised over $20,000 for Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood.
Notably, Price has been vocally pro-abortion rights of late. On March 22, via Bandcamp, the artist released a cover of Lesley Gore’s six-decade-old single “You Don’t Own Me.” She stated proceeds from sales of the single were being given to Noise for Now, “a national initiative that enables artists and entertainers to connect with and financially support grassroots organizations that work in the field of Reproductive Justice, including abortion access.”
Also, in December 2021, Price partnered with Arizona-born and formerly also Nashville-based Solstice Intimates on a limited-run, limited-edition underwear line called “Hands Off.” The proceeds were also given to Noise for Now.
As for Isbell and his wife, Shires, they have been active protestors of late, participating in pro-abortion rights rallies in downtown Nashville. Always willing to lend their social media voices to amplify political causes, their posts this morning — including Shires reposting a 2020 Yahoo conversation regarding her then just-released single, “The Problem” — fit expectations.
Notably, “The Problem” ‘s lyrics include the following:
Morris is a native of Texas, a state where a “trigger law” signed by Gov. Greg Abbott will outlaw abortion within 30 days of Friday’s ruling. Texas and 12 other states (Tennessee included) have trigger laws that would prohibit or almost completely ban abortions. Also important to note regarding Texas is that the 1973 Roe decision stems from a case that originated in Dallas County.
Also, Taylor Swift has weighed in. She re-tweeted a statement made by former First Lady Michelle Obama- in which she notes that she is “heartbroken” by the decision while noting that those who wish to support the rights of those wanting to seek abortions to support organizations including Planned Parenthood and The United State of Women.
In a 2020 Guardian interview, Swift offered the following thoughts.
“I mean, obviously, I’m pro-choice, and I just can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe we’re here. It’s really shocking and awful. And I just wanna do everything I can for 2020. I wanna figure out exactly how I can help, what are the most effective ways to help. ’Cause this is just… This is not it.”
Two-time 2021 Country Music Association Award-winning vocalist Kelsea Ballerini also added thoughts via Instagram stories, reposting Glamour Magazine‘s statement that 18,050 days of abortion rights for women “ended today.” This is one of the 28-year-old artist’s first public statements in regards to her feelings on the pro-choice versus pro-life issue.
LIVE UPDATES:Abortion in Tennessee updates: Leaders react to Supreme Court decision; push for ban to go in effect before 30 days
Recent CMA Fest breakout star and country radio chart number-one artist BRELAND added a thoughtful note he typed on his cell phone and posted to social media. He’s from a family of acapella gospel vocalists, plus has always shown particular sensitivity to framing Black civil rights in conversations about his music in a timeless historical and social context.
“This Supreme Court ruling requires both men and women to use their platforms to speak out,” he stated. “This is a civil rights issue, and all signs point toward this decision being the beginning of a set of similar rulings that could also affect the rights of many other communities of Americans. I’ve always dreamed my music would heal the divisions from which these decisions were made, but today it seems only the age-old melodies of our forefathers were heard. It’s the same song that accompanied slavery, the wicked backing track of Jim Crow and segregation, a hymn of oppression and control.”
Moreover, Allison Russell both posted a long poetic statement on Twitter, plus reposted a statement shared by her professional ally and friend Brandi Carlile.
“I have spent the last 20 years of my life traveling to every state, city and every corner of the American landscape. From Alabama to Georgia, Texas to Tennessee, from New York to California, I have sung songs of hope, inclusivity and love to audiences reflecting those sentiments right back at me by singing along to every word. The harrowing and unprecedented decision made by SCOTUS today does not represent the heart and soul of the faces I see everyday in America. The politics and policies don’t match the people. We outnumber the oppressors and we are unstoppable when we realize that and vote as a revolutionary body. This can be undone.”
Also notable to this story is that many of the state’s conservative lawmakers are applauding the decision and posting their thoughts on social media. However, the artists known to support them have yet to make public statements of similar support as of press time.
This story is still breaking and will be updated.
