Pro-lifers have routinely cited abortion laws in countries like China and North Korea as proof of Democratic extremism on the subject, but MSNBC’s Ali Velshi used his Saturday show to suggest that those two countries, as well as other dictatorships, prove that the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision was the radical position and that America is no longer a free country because of it.
Velshi explained, “Voting rights, LGBTQ rights, rights around education, health care, elections, you name it. What the Supreme Court of these United States has done has simply been to extend America's recent streak of erasing rights that are inherent to democracy. Overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving abortion laws up to the states makes America an outlier among developed countries.”
Bringing up a map of the world, Velshi engaged in some intellectual dishonesty:
Take a look at this map, these are countries where a person can get an abortion, quote, on request. Now, there are varying limits on how far along the pregnancy is, but for the most part if you want an abortion in any of these places in green, you can get it. Canada, Greenland, France, Spain, Italy, a majority of Europe for that matter, Australia, and New Zealand, all countries you would expect to see on the map.”
Many of those “varying limits” would not have been allowed under Roe and Casey, but Velshi continued, “and then there are countries you might be more surprised to see in this group, including Cuba, Argentina, Turkey, Russia, China, and I hope you are sitting down for this one, North Korea.”
Why is Velshi praising Putin’s Russia? What does Putin have on him?
Continuing with his map, Velshi highlighted countries that outlaw abortion in red before noting:
The rest of the world varies with laws that allow abortion under a range of circumstances, including when saving a life or preserving a person’s health. This is where America falls, somewhere in between Sweden and Sierra Leone, somewhere between a full ban and fully legal, that is because since the reversal of Roe v. Wade it is tough to characterize the legal status of abortion in America because it now varies wildly state to state.”
U.S. pro-life laws have maternal—not “person’s”—health exceptions as well. Still, Velshi returned to the dictatorships, “The right to an abortion, a woman's right to control her own body, no longer has blanket constitutional production in America which means that women have rights in China and North Korea that they do not have in the United States of America.”
Yes, they also have forced abortions because China, North Korea, and other dictatorships do not value human life.
Velshi also declared “This map is actually being generous… the entire country should be painted scarlet red because it does not matter if abortion is allowed in some states, if it is prohibited and even just one, then America is not truly a free country because if the rights of one single American are taken away, none of us enjoy absolute freedom as citizens of this country.”
At least babies have more rights in America than North Korea.
This segment was sponsored by Nugenix.
Here is a transcript for the July 2 show:
MSNBC Velshi
7/2/2022
9:56 AM ET
ALI VELSHI: From 50,000 feet, it may seem as if rights, especially when you're thinking about gay marriage have been expanding, but look more closely and you’ll realize that personal rights are being steadily chipped away. Voting rights, LGBTQ rights, rights around education, health care, elections, you name it. What the Supreme Court of these United States has done has simply been to extend America's recent streak of erasing rights that are inherent to democracy. Overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving abortion laws up to the states makes America an outlier among developed countries.
Take a look at this map, these are countries where a person can get an abortion, quote, on request. Now, there are varying limits on how far along the pregnancy is, but for the most part if you want an abortion in any of these places in green, you can get it. Canada, Greenland, France, Spain, Italy, a majority of Europe for that matter, Australia, and New Zealand, all countries you would expect to see on the map, and then there are countries you might be more surprised to see in this group, including Cuba, Argentina, Turkey, Russia, China, and I hope you are sitting down for this one, North Korea.
Even in some countries that embrace authoritarianism, and have horrible records on human rights and the treatment of women, abortion is still available on request.
Now, here's a look at a map where abortion is outright prohibited, it is actually a smaller amount than you would think, Egypt, Iraq, Madagascar, The Philippines, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and a few others. The rest of the world varies with laws that allow abortion under a range of circumstances, including when saving a life or preserving a person’s health.
This is where America falls, somewhere in between Sweden and Sierra Leone, somewhere between a full ban and fully legal, that is because since the reversal of Roe v. Wade it is tough to characterize the legal status of abortion in America because it now varies wildly state to state.
The right to an abortion, a woman's right to control her own body, no longer has blanket constitutional production in America which means that women have rights in China and North Korea that they do not have in the United States of America.
This map is actually being generous, giving America too much credit, the U.S. does not deserve to be striped in green and red depicting a nation that just can’t make up its mind, the entire country should be painted scarlet red because it does not matter if abortion is allowed in some states, if it is prohibited and even just one, then America is not truly a free country because if the rights of one single American are taken away, none of us enjoy absolute freedom as citizens of this country.
