A resurfaced stand-up routine from late comedy legend George Carlin about far-right conservatives' obsession with abortion was as relevant then as it is now in the wake of the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
On Friday, the conservative majority court voted to overturn the 1973 landmark ruling–which federally protected people's reproductive rights—as part of their ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
After nearly five decades of people having legal body autonomy in the United States, reproductive rights will now vary by each state.
As the debate around who gets to decide what a person does with their own ovaries and uterus rages on, a video of Carlin's standup performance from his 1996 HBO special Back in Town showed his frustrations against pro-life backing conservatives.
You can watch a clip from his comedy special, here.
\u201cConservatives aren\u2019t pro life. They\u2019re Anti-Women.\n\nGeorge Carlin in 1996\n\n#RoeVsWade #AbortionBan\u201d— Karson Pilote (@Karson Pilote) 1656160000
Carlin's opening inquiry "Why is it that most people who are against abortion are the people you wouldn't want to f'k in the first place?" was met with raucous cheers from the audience.
"These conservatives are really something aren't they?" he continued.
“They’re all in favor of the unborn. They will do anything for the unborn. But once you’re born, you’re on your own."
"Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to nine months. After that, they don’t want to know about you!”
\u201c@karspilot @TorpleDook weird how a clip from almost 30 years ago is still relevant today \ud83d\ude10\u201d— Karson Pilote (@Karson Pilote) 1656160000
\u201c@karspilot I find this more depressing than funny because, he's not joking. Its all true.\u201d— Karson Pilote (@Karson Pilote) 1656160000
Carlin added with conservatives all bets are off post-birth.
"After that, they don't want to know about you. They don't want to hear from you. No nothing. No neonatal care, no day care, no head start, no school lunch, no food stamps, no welfare, no nothing."
"If you're preborn, you're fine; if you're preschool, you're f'ked.”
\u201c@DonLew87 @ChipHarbour Boom\u201d— Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc (@Rex Chapman\ud83c\udfc7\ud83c\udffc) 1630792100
\u201cNailed it. Carlin always did.\u201d— George Hahn (@George Hahn) 1630808429
\u201cCarlin nailed it. And nothing has changed.\u201d— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1630807721
\u201c@karspilot Brilliant.\u201d— Karson Pilote (@Karson Pilote) 1656160000
\u201c@karspilot Nobody says it better than Carlin\u201d— Karson Pilote (@Karson Pilote) 1656160000
\u201c@karspilot My new fav vid now\u201d— Karson Pilote (@Karson Pilote) 1656160000
"Conservatives don't give a sh*t about you until you reach military age," Carlin said. "Then they think you are just fine. Just what they've been looking for.
"Conservatives want live babies so they can be raised to be dead soldiers."
He clarified "[conservatives] aren't 'pro-life'."
"They're anti-woman."
Carlin often tackled religion and politics in his standup routines and was an influential and revered social critic, author, actor and comedian.
In relation to current events, some of his past standup routines have resurfaced online–including a 1990 clip of him calling out comedians who pick on "underdogs" in the wake of the backlash leveled at comedian Dave Chappelle for making transphobic comments.
Carlin died as a result of cardiac failure in 2008 at the age of 71. He was posthumously awarded that year for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
