Chidambaram terms US abortion ruling ‘deeply disappointing’

“If you look hard, you will find tears rolling down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty,” he added.

If you look hard, you will find tears rolling down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty

Today is a sad and deeply disappointing day for liberty, equality, privacy and dignity — especially of women

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) June 24, 2022

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The US Supreme Court took the dramatic step of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion and legalized it nationwide, handing a momentous victory to Republicans and religious conservatives who want to limit or ban the procedure. The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority, upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.

Hitting out at the US justice system, the senior Congress leader also said, “When a nation is hopelessly divided, non-elected judges can impose their prejudiced opinions on the people and get away.”

Being one of the first leaders from India to react on the issue, he also said, “Constitutional rights are not ‘given’ by the Court, they are birthrights. The Court cannot ‘take away’ a right that it has not given,” Chidambaram added.

Highlighting the problems which will be faced by the women due this overturning of the judgement, he said, “Can you imagine a woman bearing until full term and giving birth to an unwanted child; a child of a rapist; a child sowed by incest; a child which the mother cannot afford to bring into this world or cannot afford to feed or raise; and a child that may not get any love at all.”