Why are pro-lifers, pro-life? Could it be that they genuinely believe that the unborn child is a human being with rights? According to the Wednesday edition of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with host of the week Jordan Klepper and abortion activist and author Jessica Valenti, that is not even a possibility. It must either be because they want power within the GOP or they enjoy controlling women because being a pro-lifer means being “the biggest asshole from high school.”
Klepper asked the book touring Valenti, “It's curious, in your book, you talk about the battle over language, which we've seen go way back, whether it is pro-choice, pro-life, but you get into the nitty-gritty about, like, Nikki Haley talking about consensus talking about what late-term abortions mean. Like, for folks who aren't paying attention, why is that so important, and how do you see that getting morphed and shifted right now?”
Valenti warned, “This is how they trick voters, right? So, they use words like, ‘I don't want a ban, I want consensus legislation.’ ‘We're not banning abortion, we are giving it back to the will of the people, we’re giving it back to the states.’”
Citing no sources, she continued, “Because this is something voters feel so strongly about, 81 percent of voters do not want government involvement in abortion at all. They don't want it regulated by the law. They are working really hard to use language that makes it sound as if voters are with them, right? They're trying to do this very clever pivot, and with something like ‘late abortion,’ which is not a real medical term, they're constantly moving the goalposts for what late abortion means.”
It is simply wrong to say that 81 percent of Americans favor limitless abortion, but Klepper was there to help Valenti sell books and promote abortion, not seek truth. He wondered, “How much of this do you see as right-wing legislators who are using this as a way to gain power within their party? Perhaps not true believers, but, using it as a form of manipulation and how much of this, you talk about legislators who are doing this to exert control over women's bodies in some dark terms. When you look over all at that, how much of it is just a blatant move to be in a position of power, and how much of it is exerting power over a woman's body?”
Valenti replied:
I think it is both. I wrote a column once called "The worst guy you know." Think about the biggest asshole from high school, right? The guy who was devil's advocate, always had something to say, that's who the prosecutor is now. That is who the local legislator is now, that's who the sheriff is who are bringing forward these cases. So, when you look at the people who are enforcing these laws on a local and state level, they’re the worst guy you know. The worst kind of person you can possibly imagine. That said, I do think that there are a lot of politicians who don't really care. They don't care. It's just about the power to them.
Seeking a contrast, Klepper followed up, “In dark times, we have the worst guy you know from high school. What is the best guy you know from high school doing right now?”
Grateful for the question, Valenti declared, “Probably making phone calls to get bus tickets for people to get out of Florida to, no, really, to get an abortion out of state.”
Pleading with the audience, she concluded, “There are so many folks like abortion funds on the ground, which are in the middle of a funding crisis and could really use your help. There are so many people who are doing the hard work of ensuring that people can get those abortions. That is what brings me a tremendous amount of hope and positivity for the future.”
If you are promoting a culture of death under the guise of freedom, maybe it isn’t your opponents who are “the worst kind of person.”
Here is a transcript for the October 9 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
10/9/2024
11:27 PM ET
JORDAN KLEPPER: It's curious, in your book, you talk about the battle over language, which we've seen go way back, whether it is pro-choice, pro-life, but you get into the nitty-gritty about, like, Nikki Haley talking about consensus--
JESSICA VALENTI: Yeah.
KLEPPER: -- talking about what late-term abortions mean. Like, for folks who aren't paying attention, why is that so important, and how do you see that getting morphed and shifted right now?
JESSICA VALENTI: Sure. I mean, this is how they trick voters, right? So, they use words like, "I don't want a ban, I want consensus legislation." "We're not banning abortion, we are giving it back to the will of the people, we’re giving it back to the states."
Because this is something voters feel so strongly about, 81 percent of voters do not want government involvement in abortion at all. They don't want it regulated by the law. They are working really hard to use language that makes it sound as if voters are with them, right? They're trying to do this very clever pivot, and with something like “late abortion,” which is not a real medical term, they're constantly moving the goalposts for what late abortion means.
So, when you hear someone like Nikki Haley say, "I'm against late abortion," ask her how many weeks that is, because right now, I've been tracking the anti-abortion movement, right now, to them, that is 12 weeks. So, when they say, "I support consensus legislation for late-term abortion," they are saying, "I support a national ban at 12 weeks." That’s how you have to decode the language.
KLEPPER: How much of this do you see as right-wing legislators who are using this as a way to gain power within their party? Perhaps not true believers.
VALENTI: Sure.
KLEPPER: But, using it as a form of manipulation and how much of this, you talk about legislators who are doing this to exert control over women's bodies.
VALENTI: Yeah.
KLEPPER: In some dark terms.
VALENTI: Yeah.
KLEPPER: When you look over all at that, how much of it is just a blatant move to --
VALENTI: Yeah.
KLEPPER: -- be in a position of power, and how much of it is exerting power over a woman's body?
VALENTI: I think it is both. I wrote a column once called "The worst guy you know." Think about the biggest asshole from high school, right?
KLEPPER: Okay.
VALENTI: The guy who was devil's advocate, always had something to say, that's who the prosecutor is now. That is who the local legislator is now, that's who the sheriff is who are bringing forward these cases. So, when you look at the people who are enforcing these laws on a local and state level, they’re the worst guy you know. The worst kind of person you can possibly imagine. That said, I do think that there are a lot of politicians who don't really care. They don't care. It's just about the power to them.
KLEPPER: In dark times, we have the worst guy you know from high school—
VLANETI: Yeah.
KLEPPER: -- what is the best guy you know from high school doing right now?
VALENTI: Oh, I love that question. Probably making phone calls to get bus tickets for people to get out of Florida to, no, really, to get an abortion out of state. I think one of the most amazing things about doing this work over the last two plus years has been seeing the way that people have come together on this issue to make sure that people can get the care that they need no matter what.
There are so many folks like abortion funds on the ground, which are in the middle of a funding crisis and could really use your help. There are so many people who are doing the hard work of ensuring that people can get those abortions. That is what brings me a tremendous amount of hope and positivity for the future.