The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has referred to the US Supreme Court's decision to curtail abortion rights as "a setback for women and their freedom to govern their own bodies and their lives."

As The Guardian reported, the "devastating" decision, although immediately impacting Americans, also served as a reminder to Australians that "hard-won victories before our parliaments may be taken away simply," according to the minister for women, Katy Gallagher.

For context: on Friday, the US supreme court overturned a decision that had preserved a constitutional right to abortion for almost 50 years. As a result, abortion is now expected to be illegal in at least 26 states as soon as it is practical to do so.

Albanese, who was flying to Spain for a Nato summit on Monday morning, responded to the ruling by saying people were “entitled to their own views, but not to impose their views on women for whom this is a deeply personal decision”.

“That is, in my view, one for an individual woman to make based upon their own circumstances, including the health implications,” Albanese told the ABC AM program in an interview broadcast on Monday.

“This decision has caused enormous distress. And it is a setback for women and their right to control their own bodies and their lives in the United States. It is a good thing that in Australia, this is not a matter for partisan political debate.”