500 Female Athletes File Brief With Supreme Court Against Mississippi Abortion Law

On Monday, more than 500 female athletes signed a friend-of-the-court brief opposing a Mississippi law that would ban abortions of pregnancies that are 15 weeks or longer. The athletes displayed solidarity in numbers while urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the law.

Of those that signed, 276 are college athletes, 73 are professional athletes and 26 have competed in the Olympics — among these athletes were Olympian and two-time World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe and her fiancee, WNBA star Sue Bird. 

In 1973, the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case ruled that women had the right to end their pregnancies with abortions, but now, 48 years later, opponents are attempting to overturn the historic case. The brief, that was submitted to the court on Monday, highlights that “the physical tolls of forced pregnancy and childbirth would undermine athletes’ ability to actualize their full human potential.”

Rapinoe, who is highly vocal and active in social issues, commented by saying, “As women athletes and people in sports, we must have the power to make important decisions about our own bodies and exert control over our reproductive lives.”