Political commentator and comedian John Oliver discussed personhood laws on a recent episode of his show, "Last Week Tonight," on HBO, arguing that such laws "treat[] women as incubators."

Key Takeaways:

• Comedian John Oliver said multiple states currently have personhood laws (which treat preborn human beings as actual human beings) in place, and complained that even legislation like fetal homicide laws are dangerous.

• He additionally pointed to cases of medical neglect as "proof" that personhood laws harm women.

• Oliver argued that personhood laws turn their mothers into nothing more than "hosts" and "incubators."

The Details:

On Sunday night's episode of "Last Week Tonight," Oliver included a segment on fetal personhood, and the so-called dangers personhood laws pose to women. Oliver stated:

"The fetal personhood idea can be embedded in laws in a bunch of different ways, and some can initially sound appealing, like ones that make it a crime to cause the death of an unborn child during an act of domestic violence.

But, once the law recognizes a fetus as a separate victim, if you get pregnant, that same logic can quickly be weaponized against you, and in all sorts of ways. Hundreds of women across the country have been arrested or lost custody of their children for reasons related to their pregnancies."

He then pointed to examples of women who were reportedly denied miscarriage treatment, or who were allegedly being forced into c-sections, as proof that personhood laws put women's lives at risk. He also claimed it turns women into nothing more than "hosts" and "incubators."

"The obvious consequence of these laws is they treat the individual carrying the fetus as something less than a full human," he claimed. "And the very moment you're pregnant, you become merely a means to an end."

He continued:

[T]here are only a handful of situations where it's acceptable to call a woman a host: if she works front of house at a restaurant, if she invites you over for dinner, if she has her own talk show, or, if you're talking about Annabelle, host to the demonic spirit permanently trapped inside her.

... [W]hatever the rhetoric used to justify fetal personhood, in practice, it effectively treats women as incubators.

... [W]omen would effectively be second-class citizens.

Fetal Personhood: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Reality Check:

Many of Oliver's points are not based in reality.

It has become a frequent pro-abortion talking point to claim that pro-life laws put women's lives at risk, denying them needed treatment after experiencing pregnancy complications. In most cases, these women were victims of medical neglect or malpractice, not an inability to have their children directly and intentionally killed by abortion.

Induced abortion, the intentional and targeted killing of a preborn child, is not the medical standard of care, nor the same thing as providing treatment with the intention to save a woman's life, even if that treatment may result in the death of the child. The intent is what makes the difference.

Some doctors have wrongly blamed their own neglect on pro-life laws; their motivation for this is unclear.

Oliver also noted several cases which made nationwide news, in which women claimed they were forced into c-sections against their will. In reality, while the hospitals' manner of holding emergency hearings and court orders was wrong, the ultimate goal was not: to save the lives of both mother and baby.

In these cases, which Oliver did not acknowledge, doctors said these decisions saved two lives. One case specifically was prompted by the mother's alleged statement that she would not have a c-section, even if it meant her baby died.

"I heard her say, 'I'm not gonna have a C-section. If the baby dies, the baby just dies,'" Jenny Van Ravestein, the then-division director of women's services at UF Health Jacksonville, said in a hearing. "That, to me, was what was extremely upsetting to my team."

Dr. Erin Burnett, an attending physician at UF Health, added, "We were concerned that she would not want to act in the best interest of her infant, even if it came to that."

Obstetricians are well aware that they have two patients — mother and preborn child — something that is typically acknowledged by the medical industry.

The Pro-Life Reply to: "Is Abortion Ever Medically Necessary?"

The Big Picture:

As Live Action founder and president Lila Rose has explained, there is a simple reason as to why personhood laws are needed: because preborn children are human beings, and therefore, have an intrinsic right to life.

"[T]here is no doubt, from the first moments of its existence, an embryo from human sperm and egg is in fact, a human being," she said, adding, "The disagreement is about whether these and all humans deserve legal protection and to have their basic human rights protected."

Acknowledging the humanity of the preborn also does not infringe upon the bodily autonomy of pregnant women; after all, laws generally do limit people to what they can or cannot do with their bodies, and usually, the line is drawn at harming other human beings.

Pregnancy is the only circumstance in which a woman is told it is both legally and culturally acceptable to intentionally take the life of another human being. It's especially grievous that this human being is her own offspring.

Ultimately, as Rose pointed out, denying preborn children personhood is just another tool of oppression waged against the vulnerable by a more powerful class:

The reality is abortion has always been a tool of the powerful to oppress the powerless and has always been a tool of those who are irresponsible to reject the sacredness of human life and the responsibilities that come with sex.

The Bottom Line:

Acknowledging the humanity of one person does not deprive another person of their humanity.