John Oliver Slams Justice Alito’s “Horror Show” Abortion Draft Opinion on ‘Last Week Tonight’

By Greta Bjornson @greatbjornson
Published May 9, 2022, 9:27 a.m. ET

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John Oliver dedicated Sunday’s (May 8) episode of Last Week Tonight to the “horror show” leaked Supreme Court abortion opinion, ripping Justice Samuel Alito’s conclusion, and arguing in favor of bodily autonomy. The late night host began his segment by responding directly to the Justice’s words that the right to abortion is not a constitutional guarantee. Oliver had two words for Alito: “Fuck off.”

Reacting to Alito’s argument that “the inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions,” Oliver dismissed the Justice’s words, replying, “Okay, but even if that were true, which by the way ― fuck off ― the framers probably left off the specific right to abortion because they couldn’t anticipate it be such a massive concern.”

While showing an image of the all-male framers, Oliver pointedly added, “I don’t know why these particular individuals didn’t have abortion on the forefront of their minds. There must have been some explanation. I just can’t quite place the exact reason, but it is on the tip of my penis.”

He then went on to defend abortion as a far more common and necessary procedure than people realize, citing stats from a December 2021 New York Times article showing that 25% of women have an abortion, and six in 10 of them undergoing the procedure already have children.

“Some who get abortions are survivors of rape or incest, others might need one for medical reasons, but also just to be clear, some will be seeking an abortion because they fucking want one, and this is very much about them, too,” Oliver said.

He continued, “This is a fight for people’s right to have control over their bodies. It’s about bodily autonomy.”

Oliver went on to warn his audience of what the future could hold if Roe v. Wade is overturned: “We may now also need to shore up other rights supposedly guaranteed by Supreme Court rulings, from voting rights to gay marriage, because the fact is, under the current Supreme Court, your basic rights today could become crimes tomorrow.”

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs Sundays at 11/10c on HBO. Watch Oliver’s full segment on abortion rights in the video above.