How ironic. A children’s entertainer who is anti-child.
On Sept. 22, Big Think published a video starring Bill Nye, “The Science Guy,” attacking pro-lifers who need to “look at the facts,” when it comes to issues like abortion. The media followed his misleading lead – and applauded Nye for his “science,” from USA Today to Newsweek. Women’s sites also chimed in, like Bustle, which insisted Nye was still “the Science Guy, not the Political Guy.”
Since the video’s release, numerous news outlets have published articles debunking Nye’s “science,” from National Review to The Federalist to LifeSite and LifeNews.com.
In his video, Nye paints pro-lifers as idiots – bashing abstinence while demanding birth control and access to abortion.
“I understand that you have deeply-held beliefs and it really is ultimately out of respect for people, in this case, your perception of unborn people,” he said. “But I really encourage you to look at the facts.”
Let’s start with this fact: Nye is not a biologist. Nye earned a Bachelor of Science degree before he started his career for Boeing. Furthermore, Nye became the known as the “Science Guy” while performing and writing comedy.
And, then, there are also these facts he might find inconvenient like:
● A baby has a heartbeat at 6 weeks
● A baby has fingers and eyes at 8 weeks
● A baby has fingernails at 12 weeks
But Nye, along with his media fans, won’t tell the American public those facts.
Here are the 10 worst media headlines praising Bill Nye’s abortion video:
1. The Washington Post: “Bill Nye: Anti-Abortion Laws Are Based on ‘Ignorance’”
For his efforts, The Washington Post’s Rachel Feltman applauded Bill Nye and his “matter-of-fact scientific information.”
She called his presentation “absolutely true” – like “the fact that eggs are fertilized quite frequently, and that it's illogical to protect a fertilized egg over the interests of a woman.”
But, she admitted, it was “unlikely that Nye's video will convince anyone who wasn't already pro-choice.” She sighed, “The facts he presents are already out there.”
Besides that, “[H]istorically, those who oppose the views that Nye is pushing (read: climate change deniers) have had no trouble calling him a liberal shill, or pointing out that as an engineer, he isn't an ‘expert’ on these particular topics.”
2. The Atlantic: “Bill Nye Soothes Your Abortion Fears”
Writing for the liberal Atlantic, staff writer Olga Khazan also chimed in on the debate.
“In this dark time, our nation turns its eyes, as it did on ‘laser disc’ day in fifth grade, to one Bill Nye,” she praised.
Khazan admitted there were “several takedowns” of Nye’s argument – but only to poke fun at one of them.
Citing NRO’s Wesley Smith, when he said, “I am the same organism as I was when I was a one-celled embryo,” Khazan snarked back, “Which is another reason why his blogging ability is so impressive.”
3. USA Today: “Bill Nye Debunks Anti-Abortion Myths in New Video”
Nye also found an ally in USA Today.
“[T]he Science Guy is far from afraid of discussing the science behind hot-button issues,” USA Today’s Maeve McDermott wrote, “And he didn't mince words.”
McDermott pointed to how Nye “condemned” the “idea of ‘life at conception’ as bad science” as well as “anti-science politicians” before “making a plea for the facts.”
4. Newsweek: “Bill Nye Brings Down Hammer of Science on Abortion Opponents”
A few people still read Newsweek and its Paula Mejia heralded Nye for his “contemporary crusade contemporary crusade to inject some scientific sense into contemporary issues.”
“Nye is sympathetic to those holding long-standing religious beliefs,” she consoled, “However, he makes a point to say that books written many centuries ago for a different society with a different set of priorities (in other words, the Bible) can’t be a guide for contemporary understanding.”
5. The Huffington Post: “Bill Nye Debunks Anti-Abortion Logic with Science”
Beginning with the liberal Huffington Post, news outlets began stressing more and more how Nye sided with “science.”
While editor Nina Bahadur refrained from hyping Nye in her story, the headline made clear that the Huffington Post adores Nye.
Her story’s sub-headline also cheered, “Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!”
6. Policy Mic: “Bill Nye Perfectly Uses Science to Defend Women's Reproductive Rights”
Mic implemented a similar “science” headline.
While “2015 has been a harrowing year for women's reproductive rights,” said Mic’s Julie Zeilinger, “a unique ally has risen among the ranks, wielding his scientific knowledge: Bill Nye.”
And, she said, all women agreed with him.
“Ultimately, Nye summarizes what women themselves have been saying about their reproductive rights for years,” she urged.
7. Glamour: “Bill Nye the Science Guy Makes Fact-Based Plea in New Video About Abortion”
Women’s magazines, of course, also voiced praise for Nye.
“Bill Nye the Science Guy is taking his cool, quirky scientist thing to a new level,” gushed the staff at Glamour. “[O]ur favorite old-school science geek is getting serious about an important issue: Abortion.”
In his video, according to Glamour, Nye used “straight-up facts to make a polite-but-passionate argument as to why abortion needs to remain safe and accessible for all women.”
8. Cosmo: “Bill Nye Begs Lawmakers to Stop Trying to Control Women's Bodies and Actually Look at Facts”
For Cosmopolitan, senior writer Prachi Gupta promised, “If Bill Nye the Science Guy were still on the air, the world might be a slightly saner place.”
She deemed his “powerful” video a “passionate plea asking voters and politicians to consider the facts behind pregnancy and abortion,” because, “after all, it's science that has helped us understand how pregnancy works.”
9. Bustle: “Bill Nye on Reproductive Rights Emphasizes the Need to Stop Telling Women What to Do With Our Own Bodies”
Along with Glamour and Cosmo, women’s site Bustle hyped Nye.
“[A]midst all the political rhetoric about defunding Planned Parenthood, it's comforting to know that sense still prevails in the world,” began Bustle’s Emma Cueto. “Bill Nye the Science Guy to the rescue!”
She did have one problem with his video though: “he seems to say the Bible teaches that any time you have sex you get pregnant, which is not (as far as I know) stated anywhere in the Bible, nor is it part of any anti-choice rhetoric that I've ever heard.”
But as for the rest, Nye was her hero.
“He is, after all, the Science Guy, not the Political Guy,” she reasoned. “And honestly, it would be a lot nicer if public policy were influenced more by science and not by religion anyway.”
Cueto concluded that, “the video isn't likely to sway anyone who is anti-choice already, but it is a worthwhile reminder that science is on the side of those who aren't.”
“And besides,” she added, “when Bill Nye tells you to do something, you should probably do it.”
10. Fusion: “Bill Nye to anti-abortionists: ‘You literally don’t know what you’re talking about’”
Last, but not least, the ABC/Univision combo outlet Fusion piped up.
“The heart of Nye’s message … is that every woman has a right to make decisions about her own body, and at some point, our leaders simply need to ‘respect the facts,’ wrote Fusion’s Taryn Hillin.
She concluded with a message to Bill Nye: “Preach.”
