Right after the supreme court overturned Roe vs Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion for American women, a reporter from KNTX100 set out to find people in the street to share their views.
The reporter (Rept), a woman, addresses a man as he approaches.
Rept — Good afternoon, I’m with KNTX100 and would like to get your impressions on today’s momentous supreme court decision. Are you aware of it?
Man (stopping) — Oh yes. It shocked me. I mean, we knew there was the possibility but still it shocked me.
Rept — In which way?
Man — What business do old men have telling women what to do with their bodies? This Alito guy and Thomas, they’re just envious they didn’t get a uterus. I mean, a uterus is a beautiful thing, all of humanity has been there, all of humanity has been coddled and nurtured in that beautiful organ, every one of us has been there, Alito and Thomas too, and they don’t want to accept the fact that it’s up to the women who have the uterus to decide what to do with what’s in it.
Rept — You don’t think there should be limits, depending on when the fetus becomes viable, as in able to subsist on its own?
Man — Sure, I’m for that, too. Give it three months, that gives the woman enough time to decide if she wants to carry it or not. Because that’s a lot of responsibility. Not just for when we’re in the womb but afterwards. I mean, mothers… they’re really important.
Rept — So you think Justices Alito and Thomas are envious of women?
Man — Yeah, these guys, they’re the epitome of men who want to control women. That’s the bottom line here. I mean, us men, we’ve got to get a grip. We want women to give us life, pleasure, comfort, keep our secrets, look pretty, you name it, and we still want to control them? It’s too much. We men have to realize they have their own power and we have to trust they will use it in the best interest of humanity, like they’ve been doing all along.
Rept — So you’re for equal pay for women and for doing away with the glass ceiling in corporate America?
Man — Got that right. Not only should women get equal pay but women who conceive and give birth should get a tax break, too, as a way of saying, thank you. Definitively some time off. And we might have fewer wars in the world if we had more women in leadership. That’s not to say we haven’t seen some bad women leaders… but we’ve got to give them a chance.
Rept — What do you think women should do in the face of this decision?
Man — I was just thinking about it. Women who live in states where they will ban abortion should just leave. They should pack up and go, start a mass migration to states where they can have an abortion, and the reason is that if a state bans abortion, then they most likely have an antiwoman climate also, so women will be limited in what they can accomplish in ways that might not even be noticeable. So John will get promoted but Jill will not. Or Jill gets groped like that Hollywood producer was doing. If I had a daughter and she was living in a state that banned abortion, I’d tell her, ‘Get out!’
Rept — You don’t think they should stay and fight?
Man — If that’s what you want, sure. But those states will have a lot of hard headed men, and old fashioned women — brainwashed — who will make their life tough. So better get out and make a life elsewhere. Look, most women want to have children, it’s in them, that’s how nature made them, but in this modern age they deserve a chance to choose what to do with their lives and bodies. Mistakes happen and people get pregnant when they didn’t want to or just change their minds.
It shouldn’t be up to this Alito guy, or that dude Thomas, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Coney, you know the bunch.
I’d say to all women in states where abortion is banned, ‘get out, get out now!’
Believe me, if they start that migration, pretty soon the guys will follow them and those states will suffer. Maybe then they’ll rethink the matter. Meanwhile, I’m putting those states in my flyover list. Good riddance.
Rept — Any final comments?
Man — Yeah. God has nothing to do with it. God wants women to be happy and if they want to have an abortion, that’s okay with God.
Rept — What do you think of the war in Ukraine?
Man — Ghastly. We need to do all we can for Ukrainians. Give them planes so they can push Russians back.
Rept — Thank you so much for your thoughts, Mr…
Man — Joe… just call me Joe.
Rept — Thank you, Joe. (facing the camera) Reporting from Greenville, South Carolina, for KNTX100 and our sister affiliate in New Orleans, this is Tilly Pence.
She switches off her mike and the cameraman stops recording.
Man — Say, Tilly, you related to Mike Pence?
Rept — I am, by marriage to someone in the family tree.
Now a woman approaches. The cameraman notices and tells Tilly. Joe waves goodbye and leaves.
Tilly turns her mike back on as the cameraman starts to record the approaching woman.
Rept — Hi, I’m Tilly with KNTX100… I wanted to ask you a few questions…
Woman (smiling) — I know who you are. I saw you interviewing the gentleman, so I figured I could put in my two words.
Rept — Of course. So what do you think of the supreme court’s decision?
Woman — I’m so relieved with the decision, my prayers finally answered. Can’t thank enough the good judges. We’re truly blessed in America to have such people.
We now have God’s wishes, no tampering with creation and respect for the sanctity of life.
We are vessels for the will of God.
Our primary responsibility is to deliver to the world God’s gift — human beings. Men can’t do what we do. We conceive, carry and deliver humanity to the world, assuring our survival and progress. It’s a grand task and we women should be very proud of our capacity.
Rept — You have children?
Woman — Five. And I’ve been doing well professionally, too, so it hasn’t interfered.
Rept — Congratulations. One person I interviewed today said that, in light of the decision and as protest, women in states that don’t allow abortion should leave and migrate to states that permit it.
Woman — No, that would be disastrous. We women are fighters, we don’t give up and leaving would be giving up. Plus that would mean shrinking the pool of women available for procreation.
Rept — That was his point…
Woman — It’s not right… we need to populate all of America, not just the East and West coast.
Rept — What do you think of the war in Ukraine?
Woman — Oh, God, It’s so wrong. Those images… haunting… any destruction is wrong…
Rept — You think we’re doing the right thing in helping them out?
Woman — Actually, some help is okay but we’re spending too much… they’re just too far away… Biden’s spending like they’re his cousins… but there’s so much to do here now… and the gas prices keep going up. Everything.
(She smiles)
I have to go now. thanks for the interview. When will it air?
Rept — This evening…
Woman — Will I be in it?
Rept — Yes. Of course, we edit a little.
Woman — Of course. I just want to see myself on TV. Thank you
She turns and walks away.
Rept- So there it is folks, two different views on this difficult and divisive issue.
This is Tilly Pence, for KNTX100, until next time.
Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts
