Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir and President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson tweeted their solidarity with the US pro-choice movement, RÚV reports. The statements of support came in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 case that effectively made abortion legal in the United States. The Court’s ruling on the matter, in the case of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, was officially announced on Friday.
“Gravely disappointed and heartbroken to see the US Supreme Court overturning #RoeVsWade. We should be expanding women’s rights, not restricting them,” tweeted Katrín about half an hour after the announcement on Friday morning.
Later that afternoon, Guðni echoed Katrín’s sentiments, tweeting, “Today millions of people lost the freedom to control their own bodies and future. A serious setback for reproductive health and human rights in the USA. As Prime Minister @KatrinJak says, we should be expanding women’s rights, not restricting them #RoeVsWade.”
Abortion has been legal under specific circumstances in Iceland since 1975. As of 2019, it is legal by patient request up until the 22nd week of pregnancy.
