Phoebe Bridgers Opens Up About Recently Ending A Pregnancy
As celebrities showed off their best interpretation of "Gilded Glamour" at the 2022 Met Gala, Politico published a leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. The opinion is a "full-throated, unflinching repudiation" of the 1973 landmark decision in the case Roe v. Wade, as well as the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that protects someone's right to an abortion on a federal level (per Politico). "We hold Roe and Casey must be overruled," the opinion reads. "It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives."
The Supreme Court stressed this decision is not final in the statement they made, per CNBC. If the court does move forward and strike down the decision, The New York Times reports there are currently 13 states waiting with "trigger laws," or laws that have already been passed that say abortion is banned within their borders if the Supreme Court allows it. In states like Arkansas and Oklahoma, abortion providers would face either a $100,000 fine or spend up to ten years in prison (via The New York Times). Kentucky and Missouri would make performing abortions a felony "except in the event of a medical emergency."
One of the celebrities who attended the Met Gala, indie musician Phoebe Bridgers, took to social media after the event and shared just how personal the news about Roe v. Wade is to her.
These states already make it difficult to get an abortion
Grammy-nominated musician Phoebe Bridgers has made her stance on abortion known before the leaked Supreme Court decision. In 2020, she and indie rock band Bright Eyes released the song "Miracle of Life" exclusively on Bandcamp. As Vulture reports, proceeds from the song went to Planned Parenthood. Last year, Bridgers also donated proceeds from her cover of "That Funny Feeling" for Bo Burnham's Netflix special "Inside" to Texas Abortion Funds. She did this in response to Texas banning abortions after six weeks.
According to the Texas Tribune, once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, abortions are no longer allowed to be performed. Since fetal heartbeats are usually detected around six weeks, this only gives a pregnant person about a week to find out if they're pregnant before they schedule and have their abortion — if they can find a provider. On May 3, 2022, Oklahoma became the second state to sign a bill like this into law.
Texas isn't the only state where it's currently difficult to get an abortion. CBS News reports that "83% of Michigan counties have no abortion provider." In Indiana, where there is an abortion ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy, 93% of counties don't have abortion providers. Louisiana passed a law allowing state health officials to "suspend the license of outpatient abortion facilities," CBS News reports, severely limiting access to abortion services for 92% of the state.
Bridgers' own recent experience with an unplanned pregnancy highlighted the need for ease of access for everyone.
Phoebe Bridgers believes everyone should have easy access to abortion
Despite being publicly pro-choice, musician Phoebe Bridgers is one celebrity who hasn't shared her experience with abortion before. On Tuesday, though, she took to social media to share her story. "I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour," Bridgers tweeted. "I went to Planned Parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy." She added: "Everyone deserves this kind of access."
The access Bridgers had was to an abortion method the Food and Drug Administration "made deliverable by mail" and available by prescription through "telehealth consultations" (per The Washington Post). According to Reuters, the abortion pill is "approved for use through the 10th week of pregnancy." However, access has still been limited. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports there are still 21 states where patients must have at least one in-person visit before receiving the abortion pill. Others, like Texas and Missouri, have banned abortion services being provided through telehealth.
This lack of access has driven those seeking abortions to either make telehealth appointments with providers outside of their state or to have medication delivered outside of their state. Amanda Allen, who serves as a senior counsel member at the Lawyering Project — an organization that represents abortion providers — told Reuters this is often the quickest, cheapest method for patients to acquire the abortion pill. Others, Reuters reports, have been turning to illegal methods.
This only highlights the bigger issue at hand: Limiting and denying safe, legal access to abortions does not stop them from happening.