Leslie Jones Rips Into Alabama’s Abortion Ban on SNL: “This Is a War on Women”

“When women have a choice, women have freedom.”


Comedian Leslie Jones ripped into Alabama’s recent vote to effectively ban abortion on Saturday Night Live, appearing during the show’s Weekend Update segment in a red Handmaid’s Tale gown. “Basically, we’re all handmaids now,” Jones said. 

In a monologue both hilarious and pointed, Jones blasted the 25 senators who voted for the ban—all men, she said, who look like the casting call for a “Lipitor commercial”—while emphasizing the severity of the vote. Alabama isn’t alone in this gender imbalance: Mother Jones found that all of the nine states that recently passed abortion bans had a lower than average percentage of women serving in their legislatures, except for Georgia.

“Look, the fact that nine states are doing this means this really is a war on women,” Jones said. “And if you’re a woman out there and you feel scared or confused, just know that you’re not alone. There are so many women out there that’s got your back, especially me.” 

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

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