Court ruling on abortion attacks ‘essential freedoms’: Obama

WASHINGTON: Former US president Barack Obama slammed the decision by the Supreme Court to throw out the right to abortion in the United States on Friday, calling it an attack on “essential freedoms.”

“Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues — attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans,” the Democrat tweeted.

Obama further noted that across the US, states have moved to pass bills restricting abortion access.In a joint statement with his wife Michelle, Obama said that “what Roe recognised is that the freedom enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution requires all of us to enjoy a sphere of our lives that isn’t subject to meddling from the state.”

The former president also said the decision is unlikely to significantly reduce abortions, which he noted have been going down over the past several decades as a result of better access to contraception and education.

Obama stressed that those without enough money, access to transportation and leave from work would be impacted the most.Hillary Clinton showed the ruling as a backwards step for women—and humanity.

“Most Americans believe the decision to have a child is one of the most sacred decisions there is, and that such decisions should remain between patients and their doctors. Today’s Supreme Court opinion will live in infamy as a step backward for women’s rights and human rights”, tweeted Hillary Clinton.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday slammed the US Supreme Court decision to throw out the right to abortion in the United States.“The news coming out of the United States is horrific,” he said in a Twitter message. “No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body.”

The US top court´s six judges named by Republican presidents overturned the landmark 1973 “Roe v. Wade” decision that enshrined the right to an abortion, saying that individual states can now permit or restrict the procedure themselves. The three Democratic appointees dissented.

In his statement, Trudeau expressed sorrow and sympathy for the millions of American women set to lose their legal right to an abortion.“I can´t imagine the fear and anger you are feeling right now,” he said, while reassuring women in Canada that he would “always stand up for your right to choose.”

Abortions in Canada are legal at all stages of pregnancy and are funded by the government health care system.Following a May leak of the US high court´s draft decision on abortion, a senior minister said American women could access the medical procedure in Canada.