The internet has been ablaze with polarizing debates about abortion after a leaked Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) draft majority opinion obtained by Politico suggested the 1973 ruling of Roe v Wade could be overturned.
The Roe v Wade ruling legalized abortion in the US, but Justice Samuel Alito called it "egregiously wrong from the start" in the 98-page draft opinion.
The decision to reverse the landmark ruling–which would eliminate federal protections for women's reproductive rights–indicates that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority would ignore the legal precedent and uphold an unconstitutional Mississippi law that bans abortion care after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
This is the subject of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a pending SCOTUS case about the constitutionality of the 2018 law.
In an attempt to silence those relentlessly pushing their pro-life agenda on social media in the wake of the Supreme Court's draft leak, one Twitter user named Ian responded under the guise of an ally and asked a simple question.
Ian posted two juxtaposed photos of fetuses and asked:
"Do these look like human beings capable of living on their own and making independent choices on their own lives?"
Do these look like human beings capable of living on their own and making independent choices on their own lives?pic.twitter.com/VJGl4gnbuH— ian (@ian) 1651590857
One user argued in response:
"1 year olds cant live on there own or make real decisions so should be abort them also."
To which Ian indicated the pictured unborn offspring were not human.
"The one on the left is an elephant. The one on the right is a dog," he wrote.
The one on the left is an elephant. The one on the right is a dog.— ian (@ian) 1651592064
Twitter reacted accordingly.
If they can't tell it's a human, it shows a clear lack of understanding of what they're even fighting for. It's not "misleading" to prove to people they don't know what they're talking about. It also plays into the point of it not being full- human yet.— Red Baron\u2077 (@Red Baron\u2077) 1651767323
You just killed him wowpic.twitter.com/8yqAWlrdbq— Foxy ^-^ (@Foxy ^-^) 1651696940
Game.\nSet.\nMatch.— Evil Spock \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Evil Spock \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1651699156
pic.twitter.com/FerY0SYx8a— luce \ud83c\udf0b\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@luce \ud83c\udf0b\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1651745645
Who is killing a 2 year old child? That's a crime and you should report it.\n\nThe hyperbole is so thick with you forced birthers.— GET VACCINATED!! (@GET VACCINATED!!) 1651748568
Lot of men on here talking about womens rights! Just saying maybe best if us men, take a back seat.— pinchultane (@pinchultane) 1651704913
I will always wonder why people care so much what others do with their own body. Having access to safe abortions does not affect you if you don't want an abortion. That's the magic of choice :)— Calire (@Calire) 1651763805
If you had rolled this around in your head for about 20 more seconds, there\u2019s a chance you would have gotten the point before announcing that you absolutely missed it.— Andrew Baker (@Andrew Baker) 1651696270
According to data from Guttmacher Institute, 26 states are "certain or likely" to ban abortions if the Supreme Court overturns or guts Roe v Wade.
They also provided an infographic stating that abortion restrictions "are about control–They are designed to make care harder to provide, obtain and afford."
