Bette Midler Calls For US To Ban Viagra After Supreme Court Decision
Never one to be soft-spoken, legendary actress, comedian, and singer Bette Midler has sounded off about Viagra.
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Bette Midler has never been one to be softspoken. The legendary actress, singer, comedian, and divinity has a longstanding reputation for making bold political and social statements, some of which land a little bit better than others. Very recently, Better Midler took to social media to post an image with text stating that it was time to ban Viagra; in context, this has to do with the United States Supreme Court overturning the well-established Roe v. Wade decision by way of a super-majority of conservative judges, three of whom were appointed in the last several years while stating they respected established laws. Here is Bette Midler’s Tweet:
Never let it be said that Bette Midler uses delicate words when strong ones make the point a bit more graphically. To be fair, the stance held in Midler’s Tweet is not original to her or particularly new. A meme saying essentially the same thing in different forms has been circulating on the internet since at least 2017 and is finding new life since the recent Supreme Court decision. The Roe v. Wade decision was made in 1973 and has been upheld a number of times. In essence, the decision ruled that the United States Constitution generally protected the right to abortion under the 14th Amendment, which guarantees a right to privacy; in this specific case, the issue is considered a woman’s right to privately make decisions over bodily autonomy. So how does this have to do with Bette Midler and Viagra?
Anti-abortion activists in America have long held the stance that the Christian Bible is against abortion, often using the idea that unplanned pregnancy or pregnancy due to sexual assault is “God’s will” and thus should not be up to the impregnated person. What Bette Midler is referencing is the rebuttal that erectile dysfunction experienced by men is also God’s Will, and should not be up to the person experiencing it to treat via pharmaceutical means. It is also worth noting that while the Supreme Court’s decision that the right to abortion is not guaranteed on the federal level (largely based on Justice Samuel Alito’s assertion that because the text of the Constitution does not explicitly reference abortion as written in the 18th century, it cannot be protected under the Constitution), generic erectile dysfunction medication is largely covered under the federal Medicare program.
There have been times in the past when Bette Midler sounded off on social media and swiftly found herself the target of backlash from many corners, including her comments on the state of West Virginia. However, it is the right of an American citizen like Bette Midler to speak freely, as is specifically stated in the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, which the Supreme Court also recently ruled allows a public school employee to pray in the center of a center of sporting event and invite others to do so that the individuals are actually knocked to the ground by the crowd. This will no doubt not be the last time we hear from Bette Midler on this subject (or many others, including the gun regulation comment in her bio), and probably not the last time we hear from her on the very specific subject of erectile dysfunction.
