For the next month, the DC Diary will be written by a rotating cast of Spectator editors. Today’s author is Matt McDonald.
The man’s approach to the abortion debate
“This is a panel on abortion.” So read a sardonic tweet that went viral last week, accompanying a screenshot of Sean Hannity and his three male guests discussing the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that could knock down Roe v. Wade.
Four guys shooting the breeze on Fox News about a potentially seismic legal move that could change American sexuality for decades — is that truly cause for pearl-clasping? Much ink has been spilled about how the fall of Roe will affect women in America. The potential impact, undeniably, is huge. But a regularly aired mantra in several pieces holds that a man should “have no say” in the abortion debate.
What about Richard Blumenthal? The Democratic senator from Connecticut sponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act, which aimed to codify Roe in US law and protect abortion access nationwide. The bill failed 49-51 in the Senate yesterday (and thirty-three of those “yeas” were from male senators).
Or the president? Joe Biden had a decades-long record as a pro-life senator — yet now finds himself billed as an “unlikely abortion rights champion” by the New York Times, and is supposedly “considering executive orders and other measures to increase access and funding for women,” according to Reuters.
Then there’s California governor Gavin Newsom, who has hatched a plan to “lure businesses to California from states that ban abortion,” which — shockingly for California — involves tax breaks.
And what of the seven male Supreme Court justices who ruled in Roe’s favor back in 1973?
In a battle of such existential proportions, surely the pro-choice movement needs all the help it can get — even if that help doesn’t come from womb-havers.
A recent Pew survey revealed that only 30 percent of men have thought “a lot” about abortion, compared to 40 percent of women. Men — particularly single men — should seek to shoulder responsibility and shrink this gap in the coming weeks. Here are some starter questions to help out:
- When do I believe life begins?
- Is there a point during pregnancy at which abortion should be legal? If so, what?
- Is my state likely to ban abortion after Roe falls, or codify it?
- Am I prepared to take steps to prevent conception? (This blogger is advocating for reversible vasectomies…)
(An aside: is the gender binary back, or are we still doing the whole “birthing persons” thing that my colleague Bridget loves so much? Under 1 percent of Americans identify as trans or nonbinary — is it still the polite liberal move to bend the national vocabulary around them? Let me know, I don’t want to be rude!)
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Adieu, Trump DC
Pour one out — the Trump International Hotel in DC is no more. The Trump Organization completed the sale of the hotel on Wednesday, drawing the curtain on a venue that served as a social hub for Washington conservatives during the previous presidency.
Will miss: the chance encounters with Trumpworld acolytes (on my twenty-ninth birthday, I saw Don Jr., Eric, Lara and Kim Guilfoyle — what a treat!).
Won’t miss: paying eleven bucks for a draft beer.
Well, that backfired
Fear of NATO’s eastward expansion was one of the chief reasons Vladimir Putin gave for Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. One major consequence of his invasion? Neighboring countries want to join NATO. Finland is the latest to officially back the idea, with Sweden expected to follow suit in a matter of days.
“Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement today. “We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days.”
Prior to the Ukraine invasion, Russia shared land borders with four NATO countries: Estonia, Norway, Latvia and Poland (thanks to the Kaliningrad Oblast). Finland would become a fifth. Oops!
What you should be reading today
Joel Kotkin: How the boomers robbed the young of all hope
Stephen L. Miller: Biden’s new press secretary is an election truther
Kara Kennedy: Is Britney Spears OK?
Jack Butler, National Review: Maybe we should let McKinsey stay in Russia?
Lydia Moynihan, New York Post: Only 8% of Manhattan office employees are back five days a week: survey
Erin Griffith, New York Times: Fear and loathing return to tech start-ups
Poll watch
President Biden Job Approval
Approve: 41.4 percent
Disapprove: 53.8 percent
Net approval: -12.4 (RCP Average)
North Carolina Senate Republican primary
Ted Budd: 43 percent
Pat McCrory: 16 percent (the Hill/Emerson)
