John Oliver once again proves that he has a way with words and expressing how most of us feel towards certain subjects. "Even if that were true which, by the way, f*** off" — pretty accurately sums up how most Americans — roughly two-thirds — and even most non-Americans feel in regard to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked draft opinion which revealed the intention of overruling Roe V. Wade.
The latest episode of Last Week Tonight dealt with two major topics: abortion and the Philippine elections. Like other late-night show hosts, such as Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Jimmy Fallon, Oliver has strong views on Alito’s draft opinion, perhaps even more strongly put than the aforementioned hosts, and thankfully, he did not filter any of his words.
The British-American comedian offers a sarcastic rebuttal to Alito’s argument that the right to abortion was not part of the constitutional guarantee of liberty and rights because the Founding Fathers — as the title suggests — were all men, meaning women's rights weren't exactly a priority at the time. Oliver makes clear, in more ways than one, that referring back to past centuries for the right way to deal with abortion rights is a strategy permeated with fallacies.
“We need to be able to talk about abortion like adults” Oliver defends “because when as now seems inevitable this ruling becomes official there will be immediate and devastating consequences.” These consequences are, of course, mostly going to be felt by women who will either be deprived of the means to abortion or resort to financially strenuous means to get one, and that is if they even have the necessary resources to do so.
There’s a clear hint of frustration in the host’s tone as he has to find himself stating what should have been obvious to everyone: “this is a fight for people’s right to have control over their bodies. It’s about bodily autonomy.” Oliver likely did not think he’d have to talk about this again after the show’s "Abortion Laws" episode which aired six years ago — but here we are.
In this episode, Oliver takes aim at both republicans who have tried to decide for women what they should do with their bodies — or rather, shouldn’t — and democrats, like President Barack Obama and President Bill Clinton, who did not take strong stances to “properly safeguard” the right to an abortion for fear of repercussion. To the people who are going or are already suffering from abortion bans, the host provides a helpful link to help women understand what they can do in their situation and how to get extra external support.
As Oliver highlights, this issue should concern all of us, not just women. “Because the fact is, under the current Supreme Court, your basic rights today could become crimes tomorrow.” Watch the full segment on abortion down below.