US abortion ruling: Lily Allen’s lyrics at Glastonbury sum up world’s devastation
When Lily Allen appeared on stage at Glastonbury on Saturday evening her song summed up what everyone was thinking, ‘F*** You’ – a direct response to the US Supreme Court’s hugely controversial decision to overturn a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.
Across the world, the ruling is seen as a massive breach of a woman’s right to have control over her own body. It will leave an estimated 356 million women in the US without access to abortion rights.
It was singer Olivia Rodrigo who brought her fellow performer Allen on stage for the musical protest. And the audience was only too happy to give the US Supreme Court a collective ‘middle figure’ gesture, as thousands of people sung along to Allen’s lyrics in a powerful protest.
But Allen isn’t the only British star to make her feelings known.
British actress and activist Jameela Jamil, who is a body positivity campaigner and founder of the I Weigh Instagram account and podcast, shared four powerful posts to Instagram, one of them reading, ‘Oh my god. Roe V Wade is gone. My heart is completely broken. What happened to this country?’
As many others have, Jamil raised the issue of what happens to women who become pregnant as a result of rape and girls who become pregnant through abuse or incest.
‘Who is gonna pay for all these unwanted babies?’ she rightly wrote in an emotive post. ‘Who is giving out free healthcare to people forced to follow through on pregnancies? Who is going to better fund the adoption system? Who is going to pay for the food, shelter and educations of these forced children? Or the therapy of the rape victims and children forced to carry pregnancies to term?’
British actress Sophie Turner, best known for playing the role of Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones also posted a video to her Instagram story, highlighting the fact that the ruling will mean a return to dangerous, illegal abortions, putting the lives of millions of women – especially vulnerable young girls – in danger.
"Overturning Roe v. Wade is setting us back 50 years, this isn't going to save any lives. It's going to kill and endanger millions of women who are going to end up getting backstreet abortions, dangerous back street abortions, and end up dying from it," said Turner in her Instagram video.
She also took the opportunity to speak out in protest against America’s gun laws, before concluding the abortion ruling is “not about saving lives, it's about controlling a woman's body and controlling a woman's right to choose and it's absolutely f— disgusting."
If you, like millions of women across the world, are feeling outraged, see the The British Pregnancy Advice Service’s petition here.
