The Big Picture
- John Oliver talks about how abortion rights are a pressing issue in the U.S., with the overturning of Roe v. Wade leading to a health system crisis for women seeking abortions.
- The existence of ‘trigger laws’ means that women suddenly faced illegal abortions and had to find alternative solutions quickly, often leading to unsafe practices.
- Abortion should be decided upon by the medical community, as prohibiting it endangers the lives and health of women and puts medical licenses at risk. Voting for lawmakers who consider the nuances of pregnancy and abortion is crucial.
Even though we’d love nothing more than to sit for 30 minutes and watch local news hosts make a fool of themselves with Halloween costumes, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver unfortunately could only dedicate a minute or so to this segment. This week, the episode tackled an urgent matter: The Governor and State Senate elections, which make this a timely moment to discuss abortion rights.
Ever since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the U.S. predictably entered a health system crisis involving women who were going to have abortions in states where it suddenly became illegal. To make matters worse, the ‘trigger laws’ were upheld effective immediately, meaning that in some cases, women who were literally on their way to have their medical procedures had to find another solution – and quickly.
The aftermath was also predictable: Women having to travel to other states in order to get abortions, which in turn overcrowded clinics in states where abortion is legal. And that’s only one of the problems. Since not every woman can afford to go to a different state, there are many who resort to less than ideal abortion methods, including drinking bleach.
Abortion Rights Are Mostly Decided By Men, ‘Last Week Tonight’ Stresses
All of this illustrates that abortion is very much a topic that should be handled and advised upon by the medical community, since prohibiting it puts the lives and health of thousands of women in danger. It also can put medical licenses at risk, since if a doctor decides to perform an abortion anyway they put a whole team in danger of going to jail. So paying attention on who you vote for this year is essential, especially when you consider that 84% of lawmakers who sponsored state ‘trigger laws’ are male – meaning they hardly consider the nuances of pregnancy and abortion in their everyday lives.
The episode also made it clear that, even though it is a divisive subject, abortion still has a significant number of pro-choice supporters, even in red states like Montana, Kansas and Kentucky, which still offer access to abortion. This is why state legislative elections make all the difference, because this is the moment when lawmakers are voted in or out and can make a difference.
Last but certainly not least, John Oliver dedicated an extensive second segment to New Zealand. Why, you ask? Well, there’s also an important election taking place in the Lord of the Rings land: The Bird of the Year Competition. It’s a tough race, since New Zealand has 168 species of native birds, and 93 of them can only be found there. The problem is, the election is rigged – the incredibly adorable and always horny Kakapo was prevented from running this year. But don’t fret! The Pūteketeke is still in the running and you can absolutely vote for it right now.
You can watch the main segment below:
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
