Ep. 1388 - The Abortion Fanatics Prepare For The Apocalypse

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode centers on Ben Shapiro’s argument that the left has become irrational and morally incoherent in defending abortion, especially as the Supreme Court considers Mississippi’s abortion law and Roe v. Wade. He also covers Omicron panic in New York, criticizes renewed COVID restrictions and vaccine/mask mandates, and mocks the Biden administration’s economic messaging and jobs performance, arguing the White House is masking policy failures with misleading optics.

Main Topics: Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade, and abortion law (Priority: 5/5): Shapiro argues the Court is unlikely to fully overturn Roe but may uphold Mississippi’s 15-week law, emphasizing federalism and asserting that abortion rights were invented by the Court rather than grounded in the Constitution. Left-wing abortion rhetoric and moral inconsistency (Priority: 5/5): He attacks media and Democratic figures for claiming conservatives don’t understand sex, for excluding men from the abortion debate while affirming trans identities, and for treating abortion as central to womanhood. Adoption versus abortion (Priority: 5/5): A major segment rebuts a New York Times op-ed by an adopted Democratic strategist, arguing the left now maligns adoption to protect abortion access and that killing a fetus is morally worse than relinquishment trauma. Omicron and renewed COVID panic (Priority: 4/5): Shapiro dismisses Omicron alarm as overblown, says current data do not show increased hospitalization or death, and criticizes media and officials for pushing fear and restrictions without evidence of severity. Biden administration COVID policy and mandates (Priority: 4/5): He criticizes Biden, Fauci, and White House staff for promoting masks, boosters, testing, and travel restrictions that he says won’t stop transmission and are mainly about control. Economic performance, inflation, and jobs (Priority: 4/5): Shapiro says the November jobs report was a major miss, inflation remains severe, and Democratic messaging—especially a gas-price chart—is misleading propaganda meant to hide policy failure.

Key Arguments: The Supreme Court may not fully overturn Roe; it is more likely to produce a fragmented or messy ruling upholding Mississippi’s 15-week ban. The constitutional right to abortion was, in Shapiro’s view, invented by the Court and has no textual basis in the Constitution. The left’s abortion position is internally inconsistent: it claims both that only women can speak on abortion and that gender is fluid enough for men to get pregnant. Abortion advocacy has shifted from portraying abortion as a rare tragedy to treating it as essential to womanhood and equality of outcome. Contraception and abstinence already reduce unwanted pregnancy, so abortion is not the only—or necessary—answer. Adoption is presented by the left as traumatic or undesirable in order to eliminate alternatives to abortion. Omicron panic is unwarranted because the transcript cites no evidence of higher hospitalization or death, only more infections. Biden and Fauci are portrayed as extending COVID restrictions despite the inability to eliminate the virus, harming the economy in the process. The administration’s economic messaging is depicted as deceptive, especially the DCCC’s gas-price chart, which Shapiro says exaggerates minor short-term changes while ignoring long-term inflation. The jobs report, inflation, and state-level employment patterns are framed as proof that Democratic governance is failing economically.

Data Points: Mississippi abortion law: 15-week ban - The case before the Supreme Court centered on a law barring most abortions after 15 weeks. West Virginia unemployment rate: Lowest on record since 1976 - Shapiro cites a Wall Street Journal report listing red states with record-low unemployment. November jobs added: 210,000 - He says the latest jobs report badly missed expectations. November jobs forecast: 570,000 - Referenced as the expected jobs gain that the actual report missed by roughly 360,000. Jobs shortfall vs forecast: 360,000 - Difference between predicted and actual November job growth. Jobs regained since pandemic losses: 83% - Shapiro says the economy has recovered only 83% of lost jobs. Replacement fertility rate: 2.1 children per family - He uses this to describe population replacement in developed countries. Typical Western fertility rate: 1.7–1.8 - He says most Western countries are below replacement level. Italy fertility rate: 1.3 - Used as an example of especially low fertility. Gas price chart range: $3.415 to $3.375 per gallon - He mocks the DCCC’s chart for highlighting only a roughly 4-cent fluctuation. Gas price drop on chart: About 2 cents - He says the chart was designed to exaggerate a tiny decline. COVID teams deployment: 20 teams, tripled to 60 - Biden says federal medical teams are being expanded for winter surges. Home insurance savings: $1,250 per year average - A Policy Genius sponsor claim included in the ad reads. Time to complete Helix quiz: 2 minutes - Used in the mattress advertisement.

Pivotal Quotes: "What emerges from this case is likely to be a mess." — Ben Shapiro: He predicts the Supreme Court may issue a fragmented ruling rather than a clean overturn of Roe v. Wade. "The left is so addicted to abortion and now they're going to pretend that adoption is bad." — Ben Shapiro: He reacts to a New York Times op-ed arguing adoption is traumatic and inferior to abortion. "Fauci is the president." — Joe Biden: Biden jokes that he has seen Dr. Fauci more than his wife, which Shapiro uses to argue Fauci has outsized influence.

Implications: Listeners are urged to expect ongoing legal and cultural battles over abortion, continued COVID restrictions despite waning urgency, and more economic messaging from Democrats that may not match lived reality or the data.