• Gloria Steinem said, "without the right of women and men to make decisions about our own bodies, there is no democracy."
  • "Don't agonize. Organize," she wrote on Twitter. 
  • The famed feminist has said that "controlling reproduction is "the first step in any authoritarian government."

 Journalist and feminist leader Gloria Steinem has slammed the impact of repealing Roe v. Wade will have on democracy, in an email to AP.

"Obviously, without the right of women and men to make decisions about our own bodies, there is no democracy," she said. 

She has called for action to fight the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, protecting US abortion rights.

"Banning abortions does not stop the need. It just bans their safety."

"Don't agonize. Organize," wrote the 88-year-old on Twitter. 

Steinem said the ruling "guarantees civil disobedience and disrespect for the court."

Steinem was at the forefront of the civil rights movement for women's equality in the '60s and 70s.

AP writes that Steinem was inspired to move from journalism to feminist activism after she attended a "speak-out"  women's meeting where she could discuss her own illegal abortion in London when she was 22 for the first time. 

At the end of 2021, Steinem said that "controlling reproduction has always been the first step in any hierarchical or authoritarian government."

The repealing of Roe v. Wade has sparked anger and protests worldwide, with global leaders condemning the Supreme Court and hoards of crowds marching through the streets. 

Many celebrities have also denounced the ruling. 

For example, Lizzo is fundraising for Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights, and Harry Styles has said he is "absolutely devastated" for Americans. 

One father spent the night of the Supreme Court ruling sleeping atop a DC bridge to protest it. 

Guido Reichstadter told Insider, "Tens of millions of women are waking up without the right to control their bodies, and that's why I'm on top of this bridge. I can't understand why the streets aren't already full of fathers standing up for their children's lives."

Read the original article on Business Insider