Obama Repeats Call To Action As Roe v. Wade Is Overturned

Former President Barack Obama again urged Americans who are angry about the loss of abortion access to take action, as the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the precedent that protected abortion rights.

Obama’s statement on Friday echoed what he and former first lady Michelle Obama said when a draft opinion leaked in early May.

“For more than a month, we’ve known this day was coming ― but that doesn’t make it any less devastating,” Obama wrote on Twitter.

“If you’re looking for ways to respond, @PPFA, @USOWomen, and many other groups have been sounding the alarm on this issue for years,” he wrote, linking to the Twitter accounts of Planned Parenthood and the United State of Women.

Obama also shared an image that read: “Join with the activists who’ve been sounding the alarm on abortion access for years — and act. Stand with them at a local protest. Volunteer with one of their organizations. Knock on doors for a candidate you believe in. Vote on or before November 8 and in every other election. Because in the end, if we want judges who will protect all, and not just some, of our rights, then we’ve got to elect officials committed to doing the same.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday sends decisions on abortion rights down to the states, some of which are now poised to enact immediate bans on abortion care.

The court also struck down Casey v. Planned Parenthood, a case that reaffirmed Roe with some exceptions.

“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” the court stated.

Obama reshared a Medium post with a longer statement from his family. He said the decision “should serve as a powerful reminder of the central role the courts play in protecting our rights — and of the fact that elections have consequences.”

He urged Americans not to “instinctively turn back to their work, or families, or daily tasks — telling themselves that ... there’s nothing any of us can do,” but rather to think of “any of the hundreds of thousands of women each year who deserve the dignity and freedom of making a decision that is right for their bodies and their circumstances.”

Democratic leadership also immediately put out statements urging people to vote. “The rights of women and all Americans are on the ballot this November,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement Friday.

More on the Supreme Court abortion ruling:

• Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, dismantling decades-old precedent

• Roe overturned: The fight begins

• Abortion is now illegal in these states

• Liberal justices dissent with “sorrow” for “millions of American women”

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “We have to fill the streets”

• Clarence Thomas: Cases protecting gay marriage and contraception should be next

• Republicans make it clear they want to ban abortion nationwide

• Donald Trump praises SCOTUS decision

• West Coast states launch a plan to protect out-of-state abortion patients

• Here’s how the world is reacting to the end of Roe

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.