John Oliver on Roe v Wade: Supreme Court must respect ‘bodily autonomy’

John Oliver, the host of ‘Last Week Tonight’, slammed the Supreme Court on Sunday over the recently leaked document outlining its intention to reverse Roe v Wade, the 1973 landmark decision legalizing abortion in the United States. 

Oliver’s data showed that 25% of women have had abortions, with six out of ten already being mothers. 

He said, “Some who get abortions are survivors of rape or incest, others might need one for medical reasons, but also just to be clear, some will be seeking abortion because they f**king want one, and this is very much about them too”, continuing, “This is a fight for people’s right to have control over their bodies. It’s about bodily autonomy.” 

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The comedian also showed a video of a woman who was six weeks and a day pregnant, and unable to get an abortion in Texas. She said her birth control failed her, but she didn’t want a third child as she was struggling to raise two by herself already. 

He said, “Six weeks and a day, and she can’t get an abortion”, continuing, “For most people, that is a period that’s two weeks late, and your period can be two weeks late for any number of reasons. Maybe you’re tired or travelling or you had a change in diet or exercise, or maybe you’re just dealing with the stress of living in a misogynistic theocracy run by five of the biggest weirdos in the country”. 

Oliver backed this comment, showing an image of the five Supreme Court justices who will be making the crucial decision.

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He also called out elected officials, saying they should “stop tiptoeing around the issue of abortion and take steps to properly safeguard it. The dream version of this would be a constitutional amendment that would support people’s fundamental rights to make personal decisions about contraception, pregnancy, marriage and family life. But until then, we’re going to need other legislation at the state and federal level”. 

Oliver also addressed the larger implications of Roe v Wade being overturned, and said “We may now also need to shore up other rights supposedly guaranteed by Supreme Court rulings, from voting rights to gay marriage, because the fact is, under the current Supreme Court, your basic rights today could become crimes tomorrow.”