Old George Carlin routine resurfaces after US abortion ruling

DANNY JONES

The clip has been doing the rounds on social media following Friday's ruling

Amid the uproar following the US Supreme Court's abortion ruling earlier this week, a clip taken from one of George Carlin's old stand-up routines has reappeared online and is currently being shared by thousands on social media.

Roe v Wade, the 1973 case that led to women gaining the constitutional right to an abortion, was overturned after nearly 50 years on Friday, June 24, with many quick to decry the decision as "against human rights" and taking the US "back to the Middle Ages".

On social media, in particular, people have been recirculating George Carlin's abortion routine in response and arguing that much of his criticism towards the so-called 'pro-life' movement is just as poignant now as it has ever been.

Taken from his 1996 HBO special, George Carlin: Back in Town, the now-deceased comic begins by saying: "Boy, these conservatives are really something, aren't they? They’re all in favour of the unborn - they will do anything for the unborn, but once you’re born, you’re on your own" - gesturing with his middle finger.

"Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the foetus from conception to nine months", he continues, "After that, they don’t want to know about you! They don't wanna hear from you, no nothing; no neo-natal care, no daycare, no headstart; no school lunch, no food stamps, no welfare, no nothing".

He goes on to quip, "if you're pre-born, you're fine - if you're pre-school, you're fucked", essentially taking aim at right-wing politicians, traditionally conservative and typically Christian individuals who he believed cared more about protecting a child who isn't even born yet than about looking after those born into low-income families.

In a now-iconic phrase which seems timeless in light of this week's events, he sums things up by declaring "They’re not pro-life, you know what they are? They’re anti-woman".

Carlin died in 2008 aged 71, but more than 25 years on from this pro-choice vs pro-life routine, many people believe that very little has changed and much of what he said still applies.

Many notable figures have come out to condemn the decision which will now see individual states decide whether or not they want to limit or ban access to abortions altogether - at least five of which already.

US footballer Megan Rapinoe labelled the ruling as "cruel" and "sad" in an emotional press conference on Saturday, adding that "it will completely exacerbate so many of the existing inequalities that we have in our country."