Last week, I wrote a post arguing that we should not listen to European leaders when they try to give America advice on regulating online free speech. Many of our wonderful National Review readers added on to my piece in the comments section, saying that we should not listen to Europe on anything. Over the weekend, their argument became stronger.
After the Supreme Court’s momentous overturning of Roe v. Wade on Friday, several European leaders spouted off to denounce the decision. Even President Joe Biden played into the discourse, lamenting that the United States is “an outlier among developed nations in the world.”
But here’s the thing: We should not care about what they have to say on abortion, either. In addition to their advice being bad, it is also hypocritical. Many of the leaders who criticized the United States for the decision have laws that are either comparable to the Mississippi law at the center of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which outlawed abortion past the 15th week of pregnancy.
U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson called the court’s ruling a “big step backwards.” Apparently, about nine weeks backwards, because that is the limit on abortion in Britain. Sure, nine weeks is not an insignificant amount of time, but a country is not so much more progressive and civilized than another because it allows women to kill their babies for nine more weeks into pregnancy.
Even so, I believe we have an upcoming holiday that commemorates our Founding Fathers’ saying that they do not care about the opinions of people who take tea time every day. The upcoming Fourth of July is a good opportunity to put Johnson’s comments where they belong — in Boston Harbor with the tea.
French president Emmanuel Macron took to Twitter to claim, “Abortion is a fundamental right for all women. It must be protected. I wish to express my solidarity with the women whose liberties are being undermined by the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Perhaps he should have said that abortion is a fundamental right for all women. . . who have been pregnant for 16 weeks or fewer, which is the limit for abortion in France. That one week surely makes a big difference.
“Gravely disappointed and heartbroken to see the US Supreme Court overturning #RoeVsWade. We should be expanding women’s rights, not restricting them,” tweeted Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir. Yes, we should expand “women’s rights” by seven weeks since Icelandic women cannot receive elective abortions past 22 weeks.
In addition to the hypocrisy, there is a more severe reason why we should not listen to Icelandic opinions on abortion, in particular: the country’s attitude toward Down syndrome. OB/GYNs in Iceland are required by law to inform expectant mothers of tests that check if their babies have Down syndrome. Surrounding this policy is what some in the country criticize as “heavy-handed genetic counseling,” which goes beyond merely informing women of their babies’ health.
As a result of this culture, there are hardly any babies born with Down syndrome in the country. Unfortunately, this is not due to some magic cure for the condition; nearly 100 percent of women carrying babies with it turn to abortion.
Just like in the issue of free speech, there is a massive disconnect in the ways Americans and Europeans view disabilities. Americans believe, by and large, that life with suffering is better than no life at all, a value that extends to our views on abortion.
With the differences between our ideals and the hypocrisy of Europeans denouncing American abortion law while engaging in much the same practices, Americans should be very skeptical of the opinions of leaders across the pond.