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MSNBC host Ali Velshi slammed the United States on Saturday ahead of the Fourth of July for not being a "free country," and praised authoritarian foreign governments for their abortion policies.
"Overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving abortion laws up to the states makes America an outlier among developed countries," Velshi said.
He then unveiled a massive map of countries with different abortion policies, saying, "Take a look at this map, these are countries where a person can get an abortion, quote, on request. Now there are varying limits on how far along the pregnancy is, but for the most part if you want an abortion in any of these places in green, you can get it."
Journalist Ali Velshi speaks onstage during Global Citizen - Movement Makers at The Times Center on September 25, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
Velshi praised many western democracies, but then gave credit to authoritarian countries like Russia, China, and North Korea.
"There are countries you might be more surprised to see in this group, including Cuba, Argentina, Turkey, Russia, China, and I hope you are sitting down for this one-North Korea. Even in some countries that embrace authoritarianism, and have horrible records on human rights and the treatment of women, abortion is still available on request," the MSNBC host said.
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He hammered his point by complaining about the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow the issue of abortion be decided by each state.
"The right to an abortion, a woman’s right to control her own body, no longer has blanket constitutional production in America which means that women have rights in China and North Korea that they do not have in the United States of America," Velshi said.
The Supreme Court is seen Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The MSNBC host mentioned how some countries have certain restrictions when women can get abortion but failed to mention how they were more restrictive than the United States prior to the Court overturning Roe. For example, Ireland and German ban abortion in most instances after 12 weeks. Italy doesn't allow abortions after 90 days, or just under 13 weeks. France, Austria and Spain have banned the procedure after 14 weeks. In fact, many European nations ban elected abortions after 20 weeks. China and North Korea are the few countries that allowed abortions past 20 weeks.
Velshi went on to condemn the U.S. for allowing states that can decide their own abortion policies.
"This is where America falls, somewhere in between Sweden and Sierra Leone, somewhere between a full ban and fully legal, that is because since the reversal of Roe v. Wade it is tough to characterize the legal status of abortion in America because it now varies wildly state-to-state," he said. "It does not matter if abortion is allowed in some states, if it is prohibited and even just one, that America is not truly a free country. If the rights of one single American are taken away, none of us enjoy absolute freedom as citizens of this country."
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As he concluded his show, he suggested the Supreme Court’s most recent session had been a "reign of terror" with "a string of decisions that will leave this country battered and bruised for years to come." He warned that unless the president or Congress holds the Court accountable, it would continue to be "unchecked" and continue to take away citizens' right with "impunity."
Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this article.
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