Madison Cawthorn Thinks Your Pregnancy Is A Polaroid Or A Sunset Or Something | HuffPost Latest News - Action News
Home WebMail Monday, November 4, 2024, 08:57 PM | Calgary | 6.3°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Posted: 2021-12-04T17:42:04Z | Updated: 2021-12-04T17:44:55Z

Rep. Madison Cawthorn , the 26-year-old extremist from North Carolina, demonstrated his brittle knowledge of the issues surrounding abortion earlier this week as he argued for the reversal of Roe v. Wade on the House floor.

The Donald Trump -style Republican read out an analogy on Wednesday comparing pregnancy to a Polaroid picture in what amounted to a sermon that labeled women earthen vessels sanctified by almighty God.

His minute-and-a-half speech came the same day that conservatives on the Supreme Court appeared openly willing to turn back the clock on abortion rights in America by overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide.

Cawthorn began by inviting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to imagine youve just walked out of this chamber to see a gorgeous sunset.

You have a Polaroid camera and you snap a beautiful picture, and a great photo prints out the front, he continued.

You hold it and shake it, waiting for the picture to appear, but suddenly someone walks by and snatches your photo, ripping it to shreds, Cawthorn said, describing a task that would be nearly impossible without scissors.

You cry, Why did you destroy my picture? the congressman wailed. The callous passerby then asserts that because the Polaroid wasnt fully developed yet, it was not a picture.

All of us in this room realize how asinine that reasoning is, Cawthorn said, accidentally landing on an apt description of his entire speech.

Among the numerous problems with Cawthorns analogy are the facts that human babies unlike Polaroids require care and feeding, take an immense physical toll on the body, and an immense financial toll on caregivers who may have any number of reasons why they are not prepared to take on such a responsibility, among them a lack of governmental support.

We also have questions: Is the passerby supposed to represent a woman seeking an abortion? Certainly the analogy makes more sense if she is holding the Polaroid camera and making decisions about what happens to the photograph. Or is the Polaroid camera itself an inert object with no feeling supposed to represent a human woman in Cawthorns analogy?

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

He concluded his weird speech with a heavy dose of apocalyptic imagery: One day, perhaps when science darkens the soul of the left, our nation will repent. OK.

You can watch the whole thing below.

Truly one of the most disturbing things Ive witnessed in a long time. A Congressman, in a bid to overturn Roe V Wade and deny American women reproductive rights. Publicly referred to them as Earthen vessels, sanctified by Almighty God. Give me strength. pic.twitter.com/LvYM46GRVN

Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) December 3, 2021","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Dr. Jennifer Cassidy","author_url":"https://twitter.com/OxfordDiplomat","cache_age":86400,"description":"Truly one of the most disturbing things Ive witnessed in a long time. A Congressman, in a bid to overturn Roe V Wade and deny American women reproductive rights. Publicly referred to them as Earthen vessels, sanctified by Almighty God. Give me strength. pic.twitter.com/LvYM46GRVN Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) December 3, 2021\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":360,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFjwI2PXoAUW3c0.jpg","thumbnail_width":640,"title":"Dr. Jennifer Cassidy on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/OxfordDiplomat/status/1466742983248814080","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"61ab8ba1e4b0ae9a42bd4c76","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/madison-cawthorns-simplistic-abortion-analogy-misses-the-point_n_61ab8ba1e4b0ae9a42bd4c76","entryTagsList":"congress,abortion,roe-v-wade,madison-cawthorn","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/42c93b9d-3ea9-46c1-9ca4-608ae7f55889/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":5},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"61ab8ba1e4b0ae9a42bd4c76","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Congress","slug":"congress","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/congress","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/congress","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/congress"},"relegenceSubjectId":978813,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"U.S. Congress","slug":"us-congress","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/us-congress"},{"name":"Abortion","slug":"abortion","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/abortion","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/abortion","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/abortion"},"section":{"title":"Women","slug":"women"},"topic":{"title":"Abortion","slug":"abortion","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/abortion"},{"name":"roe v wade","slug":"roe-v-wade","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/roe-v-wade","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/roe-v-wade","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/roe-v-wade"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Roe v. Wade","slug":"roe-v-wade","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/roe-v-wade"},{"name":"Madison Cawthorn","slug":"madison-cawthorn","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/madison-cawthorn","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["
\r\n\r\n","
\r\n\r\n","
\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Truly one of the most disturbing things Ive witnessed in a long time. A Congressman, in a bid to overturn Roe V Wade and deny American women reproductive rights. Publicly referred to them as Earthen vessels, sanctified by Almighty God. Give me strength. pic.twitter.com/LvYM46GRVN

Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) December 3, 2021