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'HORRIFYING': Michelle Obama's heartbreak over SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v Wade

'When we don’t understand our history, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes,' Michelle Obama said in a statement

Former first lady Michelle Obama on Friday said she was “heartbroken” by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, doing away with the constitutionally protected right to abortions.

“I am heartbroken today,” Michelle said in a statement she shared on social media after the SCOTUS voted 5-4, largely along party lines, to strike down Roe.

“I am heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their bodies,” Michelle wrote. “I am heartbroken that we may now be destined to learn the painful lessons of a time before Roe was made law of the land - a time when women risked losing their lives getting illegal abortions.

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“A time when the government denied women control over their reproductive functions, forced them to move forward with pregnancies they didn’t want, and then abandoned them once their babies were born.

“That is what our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived through, and now here we are again.”

“When we don’t understand our history, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes,” she continued. “This horrifying decision will have devastating consequences, and it must be a wake-up call, especially to the young people who will bear its burden. I know this is not the future you chose for your generation – but if you give up now, you will inherit a country that does not resemble you or any of the values you believe in.”

“This moment is difficult, but our story does not end here. It may not feel like we are able to do much right now, but we can. And we must,” she continued, before encouraging those who are angry and frustrated by the decision to channel those feelings into action by “getting involved” with organisations helping women such as Planned Parenthood or The United State of Women.

The former first lady concluded the statement recognising that, while “our hearts may be broken today,” tomorrow must be used to “find the courage to keep working towards creating the more just America we all deserve”.

“We have so much left to push for, to rally for, to speak for - and I know we can do this together,” she wrote.