Bill Nye Has Used Science To Calmly Destroy Politicians’ Arguments Against Abortion
"You literally do not know what you're talking about."
Though always heated, debate about abortion has recently geared up in the US to spectacular consequences.
First bringing up the issue at the Republican presidential debates earlier this month, a number of candidates advocated for the defunding of Planned Parenthood: a not-for-profit reproductive health organisation that facilitates abortions (though this accounts for just 3 percent of their services and it’s not aided by federal money). Responding to a series of doctored and misleading videos which claim to show fetuses being harvested for body parts, candidates such as Carly Fiorina have been urging their fellow party members to attack the group from within the Republican-led congress. But, with many fighting back against the calls, some have raised the prospect of a full government shutdown. The mess is in fact so great that it’s now led to Speaker of the House John Boehner resigning.
Off the back off all this, Bill Nye The Science Guy has offered up his two cents: they’re all a pack of idiots. The former Disney kids’ show host has recorded a video for science website Big Think that spells out all the facts of the situation and implores politicians to forget about criminalising abortion or defunding clinics.
“If you’re gonna say, when an egg is fertilised it has the same rights as an individual than who are you going to imprison?” he says. “Every woman who’s had a fertilised egg pass through her? Every guy who’s fertilised an egg and then it didn’t become a person? Have all these people failed you?”
“It’s just a reflection of a deep scientific lack of understanding. You apparently literally do not know what you’re talking about.”
Remaining calm and measured throughout, Nye seems genuinely exhausted by the fact the discussion is taking place at all.
“It’s hard not to get frustrated with this, everybody,” he says. “You have a lot of men of European descent, passing these laws based on ignorance … We have so many more important things to be dealing with. We have so many more problems. To squander resources on this argument based on bad science and lack of understanding is very frustrating.”
This is an especially pertinent point considering his ongoing efforts to inform people about climate change. Last year, Nye recorded a similar video for Big Think talking about his increasingly infuriating experiences against skeptics and deniers both in the general population and in the media. This was later echoed by John Oliver on Last Week Tonight when he pointed out “you don’t need people’s opinion on a fact” and invited a representative number of scientists to back up Nye on air.
Though Nye’s not really the best person to be talking publicly about abortion — ladies who’ve actually been affected like Jemima Kirke are a better bet — he does have a vested interest in logic and reason. And this came home strong in his parting message:
“At some point we have to respect the facts. Recommending abstinence has been ineffective; just being objective here. Closing abortion clinics, not giving women access to birth control has not been an effective way to a healthier society. I think we all know that. I understand that you have deeply held beliefs and it is ultimately out of respect for people; in this case your perception of unborn people. But I encourage you to look at the facts … I encourage you to not tell women what to do and to not pursue these laws that really are in nobody’s best interest. Be objective about this. We have other problems to solve, everybody.”
Just a quick reminder: abortion is still not technically legal in a number of Australian states and Sydney’s oldest not-for-profit abortion clinic has just shut down. We’re not any better off.