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John Oliver Goes After Supreme Court's Reversal of Roe v. Wade in Impassioned Monologue

The HBO host called the decision "absolutely horrifying."
  • John Oliver took on the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade on Sunday's episode of Last Week Tonight,  delivering an impassioned monologue about the "absolutely horrifying" ruling.

    “It is hard to stomach some of the gleeful responses right now,” said Oliver. "Mike Pence issued the statement 'Life won,' which is pretty tough to take, given that for some, especially disabled people and other vulnerable groups, forced pregnancy could be a death sentence."

    Oliver added, "The message that the Supreme Court sends is pretty clear: We don't care if pregnancy kills you, we don't care if you don't want to be pregnant, we don't care about you at all."

    Oliver also went after the Democratic response to the decision, saying, "It has been disappointing to see so many Democrats this week utterly fail to meet the moment — a moment, by the way, they had nearly two months to plan for. Nancy Pelosi read a poem. One rep tweeted a picture of himself doing yoga, and so many Democrats sent out requests for money, really fulfilling that old Democratic adage, 'When they go low, we ask you for $15.'"

    Oliver added, "And I'm not saying that all I want from leaders is shows of anger, but it has been depressing to see so many of them treat the end of Roe v. Wade with the solemnity of a funeral, instead of the urgency of a f*cking cardiac arrest."

    Last Week Tonight airs Sundays at at 11:00 PM ET on HBO. The late night show is also available to stream on HBO Max.

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    Deena ElGenaidi's writing has been featured in Nylon, MTV News, Insider, The AV Club, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @deenaelg.

    TOPICS: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, John Oliver, Roe v. Wade, U.S. Supreme Court