As if the Internet was starved for dumb responses to Monday’s news that Roe v. Wade may be overturned —“Only Single Cat Ladies Are Mad!” -Matt Gaetz; “But I Trusted Kavanaugh!” -Susan Collins—our favorite New York Times columnist Ross Douthat signed into Twitter Friday morning to try and one-up them.
In response to a tweet from abortion rights journalist Jill Filipovic pointing out that men also benefit from abortions, many probably without even realizing it—Douthat wrote that it’s “worth noting” that ever since Roe V. Wade was passed, men are less likely to get married, have kids, live with their kids, or have a job.
Yes. Men not getting married or finding a job is obviously a direct result of a 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the US. It couldn’t have had anything to do with the 1981-82 recession or the 1990 recession or the 2008 recession or current inflation or the disappearing middle class or the failings of capitalism in general. Men’s lives went to shit after women started running around, throwing their wombs to the wind.
Except it’s…also worth noting…that correlation doesn’t equal causation! Don Moynihan, whose Twitter bio says is a professor at Georgetown, elegantly explained this seemingly difficult concept in a reply to Douthat:
If we’re playing by Douthat’s logic, then in the same 50 years since men have— become worse, I guess, by his argument—the U.S. has also created the iPhone, achieved the world record for most gold, silver, and bronze medals won at the Olympics, and invented chicken nuggets (introduced nationwide by McDonald’s in 1983). Which, outside of affording women the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies, makes Roe a giant success in my opinion—a decision that anyone would be crazy to overturn, especially if they believe in American exceptionalism!
And actually, in April, US jobless claims hit their lowest since 1970. Another win for the impact of Roe.