The Supreme Court of the United States laid down a historic decision on Friday, electing to overturn Roe v. Wade by a count of 6-3 (or 5-4, depending on how you interpret Chief Justice John Roberts’ concurring opinion), effectively making abortion rights a state-by-state issue now. Several states, primarily in the South, already had trigger laws set in place that automatically made access to abortions illegal after a certain number of weeks.
Poker Twitter never shies away from hot topics or good debates, and sure enough, several of poker’s biggest names were quick to express their views, and mostly disgust, with the decision. Some were inspired to share their own personal stories, while others were driven to take immediate action. We highlighted some of the top responses from the poker world in the list below.
Farah Galfond shares her story
One of the most striking stories was shared by Farah Galfond, a high-stakes poker pro, who also happens to be married to online poker legend Phil Galfond. She shared a very personal story about how she had a miscarriage at 13 weeks, with a fetus that had a chromosome defect. She said in a follow-up tweet that she would have had an abortion if she didn’t have a miscarriage because of the defect.
When I miscarried at 13weeks, my doctor was on vacation in Orange County. He got on the next plane to Vegas to perform a D&C after-hours. He said at 13wks, I had no other option. It was going to take a long time to pass all the tissue naturally and the pain was IMMENSE. It also https://t.co/m6VrW7xtsu
— Farah Galfond (@Farah_Galfond) June 24, 2022
Danielle “Dmoongirl” Anderson is always up for debating a topic or two on Twitter, and she was understandably fired up about the news. She recalled the feeling she felt in 2016 when Donald Trump was elected President. Fellow poker pro Maria Ho has often been vocal on social media when it comes to social justice issues. The last woman standing on multiple occasions in the Main Event, Ho also made an appearance on the Amazing Race with friend and fellow poker pro Tiffany Michelle. Ho expressed her despair over the ruling on Twitter as well
And this, is why I stood in front of the TV & cried when Trump won the election…
The only positive spin I can muster up right now is that my son can vote in a little over 3 years. I truly believe his generation will not stand for this rigged bullshit. The clock is ticking. ✊🏽
— Danielle Andersen (@dmoongirl) June 24, 2022
Today brings about a devastating and horrifying reality for all women as we lose our right to choose what is best for our bodies and I shudder at the thought of what future generations may have to endure. Get loud and keep fighting. America, this ain’t it. #RoeVsWade
— Maria Ho (@MariaHo) June 24, 2022
Dan Smith inspired to take action
Dan Smith, who just won the $25,000 Heads Up Event for his first bracelet earlier this month, is putting together a matching donation event for abortionfunds.org. As of midday afternoon on Friday June 24, he is matching over $50,000. This isn’t the first time that Smith has run such a charity event. In 2019, Smith ran a Christmas Charity Event where he matched $1,500,000 in donations.
Scary times for America.
I am working on putting together a matching challenge for https://t.co/h9HzH55wuY , but have some logistics to deal with in the interim.
Someone very sharp in the effective giving space recommended them, if you want to support, great option.
— Dan Smith (@DanSmithHolla) June 24, 2022
The reigning WSOP player of the year and 2004 Main Event third-place finisher Josh Arieh quote-tweeted Smith and declared he is in as well to seemingly match the donations. Arieh cited his two daughters as the inspiration to do so. Jen Shahade also tweeted that she plans to donate a portion of her upcoming WSOP funds to the same cause.
Devastated to learn that #RoeVsWade is overturned.
I’m leaving today for #wsop and I’ll be giving a piece of my action to @AbortionFunds, because everyone deserves to make decisions about their bodies. https://t.co/ocVqziXzI5#allinforabortionaccess pic.twitter.com/PRTAV9f36H
— Jennifer Shahade (@JenShahade) June 24, 2022
In addition to the news that was devasting for so many, some poker pros like Ryan Laplante expressed their concern that this overturning is just the beginning of what’s to come from the Supreme Court. He was quick to point out that one of the Supreme Court Justices who voted in favor of overturning, Clarence Thomas, also mentioned other cases he wants to reconsider, including contraception and gay marriage. Laplante announced he was gay several years ago and is currently engaged to his fiance.
Justice Thomas concurrence:
"For that reason, in future cases, we should consider all of this court's substantive due process precedents, including: Griswold, Lawrence and Obergefell."
Effectively: He's openly saying that gay marriage is next.
— Ryan Laplante🏳️🌈 (@Protentialmn) June 24, 2022
Lastly, Justin Bonomo, the #2 all time money winner in live poker tournaments, has often spoken out for equality and women’s rights in the past. He did not mince words when it came to his thoughts on the ruling.
64% of Americans oppose overturning Roe v Wade
But there are 6 human beings, who didn’t win elections, who are serving *life terms*, who don’t care about what we want
5 of them were appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote
Our system is so fucking stupid
— Bonologic (@JustinBonomo) June 24, 2022
