"I feel that my voice as a citizen trumps being an actor," Nancy Lee Grahn told PEOPLE at the 49th Daytime Emmy Awards after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade
Nancy Lee Grahn is making her stance clear on reproductive rights.
The General Hospital star, 66, sported several pro-choice statement pieces as she walked the red carpet Friday at the 49th Daytime Emmy Awards in Pasadena, following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn 1973's Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion.
She donned a chic black pantsuit, which she accessorized with earrings that read "CHOICE" and a jeweled clutch adorned with the words "BANS OFF OUR BODIES." Additionally, she wrote "REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM" across her chest and wore rubber bracelets for several causes.
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Grahn told PEOPLE on the red carpet that she "knew the spotlight would be on me" as she chose to make a statement with her ensemble.
"Our audience is predominantly women. They are our primary and valued audience and I respect women enormously," Grahn said. "Today, they've had their dignity taken away from them because the six extremists on the Supreme Court have issued women a death warrant. So I can't get over that to be all smiley here."
The Emmy Award winner also acknowledged that some of her fans will disagree with her stance. "There's a fraction of this audience that are very angry at me, and that's the risk I'm willing to take. I feel that my voice as a citizen trumps being an actor," Grahn said.
She was nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series at Friday's Daytime Emmy Awards for her performance as Alexis Davis in General Hospital, on which she has starred since 1996. The award went to her costar Kelly Thiebaud.
Friday's 6-to-3 ruling reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, giving states the power to pass their own laws around abortion. Since the decision, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and South Dakota have already banned abortion in their states, after putting "trigger bans" in place that governors enacted after the SCOTUS ruling.
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Protests have since erupted around the country, and President Joe Biden has spoken out against the ruling, which he called the "realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic error by the Supreme Court."
The decision comes after the SCOTUS opinion was leaked to Politico last month. A poll conducted by CNN has since found that 66 percent of Americans did not want Roe v. Wade to be overturned.