Jessica Chastain's powerful call for men to speak up on Roe v Wade is going viral

"You’re not an ally if you’re waiting for the women in your life to tell you to fight for her rights."

The Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v Wade last month, with the regressive ruling expected to strip 36 million US women of the right to abortion care.

"The Supreme Court has overturned Roe, and decimated the right to abortion in the United States," posted the National Network of Abortion funds following the verdict. "With this ruling, SCOTUS is allowing Mississippi to enforce its harmful 15-week ban on abortion and is opening the door for state legislatures to further restrict and ban abortion.

"Roughly half of states will outright ban or significantly limit abortion in the next year, and some have plans for immediate restriction."

The weeks since have seen protests across the globe, with high profile figures from politicians to celebrities speaking out against the verdict.

A-list actress Jessica Chastain, a long-time women's rights activist, made particular headlines as she used her social media platforms to call for more men to speak up.

"The importance of personal autonomy, self-ownership, and self-determination of human beings over their own bodies was gutted yesterday," she captioned a video of her powerful speech. "@plannedparenthood has been one of our biggest allies as we continue this fight."

She continued: "It’s time for men to really show up. You’re not an ally if you’re waiting for the women in your life to tell you to fight for her rights."

The protests continued this week, as celebrities up and down the country took to social media on Independence Day (4th July), calling for the celebrations to be cancelled.

Jessica Chastain was once more at the forefront, taking to Instagram to post a photograph holding up her middle fingers to camera, captioning the snap: "Happy 'Independence' Day from me and my reproductive rights".

Thank you Jessica for fighting for us all.

We will continue to update this story.