The Duchess of Sussex is speaking out following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade
Meghan Markle wants to normalize conversations about women’s health in the wake of the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
The Duchess of Sussex — who is a mother to 3-year-old son Archie Harrison and 1-year-old daughter Lilibet Diana with husband Prince Harry — spoke with Gloria Steinem and journalist Jessica Yellin following the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion in a Vogue feature published on Tuesday.
“I think about how fortunate I felt to be able to have both of my children,” Meghan, 40, said. “I know what it feels like to have a connection to what is growing inside of your body. What happens with our bodies is so deeply personal, which can also lead to silence and stigma, even though so many of us deal with personal health crises.”
She continued, “I know what miscarrying feels like, which I’ve talked about publicly. The more that we normalize conversation about the things that affect our lives and bodies, the more people are going to understand how necessary it is to have protections in place.”
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A year before welcoming her daughter Lili, Meghan suffered a miscarriage. She opened up about the experience in a moving account written in the New York Times.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” Meghan wrote in Nov. 2020.
The Duchess of Sussex shared that the July morning “began as ordinarily as any other day
“Make breakfast. Feed the dogs. Take vitamins. Find that missing sock. Pick up the rogue crayon that rolled under the table. Throw my hair in a ponytail before getting my son from his crib,” Meghan recalled.
“After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right,” she continued. “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
In the Vogue feature, Meghan added that the reversal of Roe v. Wade was about “women’s physical safety” as well as “economic justice, individual autonomy and who we are as a society.”
“Nobody should be forced to make a decision they do not want to make, or is unsafe, or puts their own life in jeopardy,” she said. “Frankly, whether it’s a woman being put in an unthinkable situation, a woman not ready to start a family, or even a couple who deserve to plan their family in a way that makes the most sense for them, it’s about having a choice.”
Meghan also called on men to be part of the conversation.
“Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large,” she said. “They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us. My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too.”
Discussing Prince Harry’s thoughts on the decision, Meghan said, “His reaction last week was guttural, like mine.”
[via]
