Happy Birthday, Megan Rapinoe

Time to celebrate the athlete/activist who speaks out today and every day.

How do you celebrate someone who is about to receive the country’s highest civilian honor? On July 7, Megan Rapinoe will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors. It’s a big week for the OL Reign captain, who turns 37 today. What better way to salute her on her birthday than to be an echo to her already large platform and to let her speak. Below find excerpts from the powerful video she posted on her IG just last week, sharing her feelings on the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. You can watch the entire video on Rapinoe’s instagram.

“Pro choice means that you get to choose. Pro choice allows other people to be pro life if that is what works for them or if that is what their beliefs are or if that is where they’re at in their life. Pro-life doesn’t allow anybody to make a choice…

I am a cisgender, rich white woman that lives in two of the most progressive cities in the world with the protection of not only myself and my resources but [pointing to her U.S. soccer jersey] this resource and this protection as are all of my teammates. Not everyone is afforded that.

We know that this will disproportionately effect poor women, Black women, Brown women, immigrants, woman in abusive relationships, women who have been raped, women and girls who have been raped by family members, who you know what, maybe didn’t make the best choice and that’s no reason to be forced to have a pregnancy.

It will completely exasperate so many of the existing inequalities that we have in this country. It doesn’t keep not one single person safer. It doesn’t keep not one single child safer certainly. And it does not keep one single (inclusive term) woman safer.

We know that the lack of abortion does not stop people from having abortions, it stops people from having safe abortions. I would encourage people to understand all of the different aspects that overturning Roe v. Wade will have on everyone in the entire country….

There are an infinite amount of reasons why a woman chooses to do what she does with her body or what they do with their body none of which are anybody else’s business…

I encourage people to take a step back and come from a place of compassion and humanity and understand that just because I believe something doesn’t mean everybody else has to. And we all get to make our own choices. But ultimately we need to come from a place of love, respect and autonomy to do what’s best for all of us.”

To the first openly gay woman to appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue, who changes the game in more ways than one – happy birthday!

And don’t forget to look below for a super cute birthday tribute from fiancée and fellow SI Swimsuit model Sue Bird.