Meghan pledges to take on US Supreme Court over Roe v Wade abortion ruling

The Duchess of Sussex has pledged to take her fight for equal rights to Washington DC, as she condemns the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

The Duchess has joined feminist campaigner Gloria Steinham to publicly criticise the decision as endangering women, warning of a “blueprint for reversing rights”.

Saying the reaction to the ruling in her house was “guttural”, with the “feminist” Prince Harry equally despairing, she argued it is now essential for legislation enshrining equal rights to be “pushed through”.

In conversation with Steinem for Vogue magazine, the Duchess said: “Well, Gloria, maybe it seems as though you and I will be taking a trip to DC together soon.”

The pair are campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment, which would explicitly enshrine the rights laid out for men in the US Constitution for women.

“It is completely nonsensical that that’s even something we’re still fighting for,” the Duchess said.

Asked whether she felt the Supreme Court decision was a “canary-in-the-coal-mine moment”, she said “absolutely”, warning it “feels like the tip of the iceberg” for the future of “same-sex marriage, contraception access, and many fundamental rights to privacy”.

“We have to channel that fear into action,” she said. “We can start this November in the midterms.

“I know hearing that feels so repetitive, but we have to vote, every time, from local elections to state and national elections.”

The Duchess warned a ban on abortion was already compromising women’s health, claiming: “It tells us that our physical safety doesn’t matter, and as a result that we don’t matter. But we do. Women matter.”

She has pledged to continue her activism “without question”.

“Being home [in America], seeing what’s happening in our country and feeling energised and motivated, if this is the type of legislation that we need pushed through, then this is a moment that I am absolutely going to show up for,” she said.

She added: “These issues are systemic, interconnected, and preventable. Women of colour and especially black women are most impacted by these decisions because most of us don’t have the same access to healthcare, economic opportunity, mental health resources…the list goes on. It’s difficult to overstate what this decision is going to do to these communities.”

Asked about her own experiences of reproductive health and the stigma surrounding abortion, the Duchess said it had reiterated how “fortunate” she felt to have her children, having previously tried to “normalise” the conversation about her own miscarriage.

“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.”

She also called on men to be “vocal” about abortion, saying she had spoken “a lot” to Prince Harry about it over the “past few days”.

“This moment requires unity—really listening to people, understanding the Constitution was written at a time when women were second-class citizens,” she said. “We’re not.”

The full interview is published online in Vogue magazine.