The Supreme Court's leaked opinion pointing to an end of Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion has galvanized proponents of legal abortion — but it has also energized abortion rights opponents. One of them, calling himself the "Pro-Life Spider-Man," was arrested for free-climbing a San Francisco skyscraper. So just who was that masked man? Wednesday's Late Show had a theory.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) would surely be shocked and disappointed if The Late Show's joke were real.
"After years of packing the Supreme Court with the expressed intention of overturning Roe v. Wade," congressional Republicans fecklessly declined to take their "victory lap," The Late Show's Stephen Colbert said in his monologue. "They're cowards, because they know it's really unpopular," so instead of talking about the actual decision, they focused on the leak itself. "Look, I can understand the argument that this leak is bad for the institution of the Supreme Court," he said, "but come on, did you think that waiting to release it this summer was going to make it a hot beach read: Your Body, His Choice?"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Your ingenious plot worked, why don't you want to celebrate?" Colbert asked. "That's like a Bond villain saying, 'Yes, I did launch a space-based laser from my volcanic fortress, but giving me credit for incinerating London is just an effort to discredit my fluffy white cat!'" He also took issue with complaints on Fox News that Democrats are suddenly politicizing abortion rights: "Yeah, typically people wait until something happens to talk about it. Nobody on the Titanic was complaining about icebergs when they left the harbor."
-
The 8 best dark comedies of the 21st centuryFrom Santa Claus to suicide terrorism, these movies skewered big, taboo subjects
-
France’s ‘red hands’ trial highlights alleged Russian disruption operationsUNDER THE RADAR Attacks on religious and cultural institutions around France have authorities worried about Moscow’s effort to sow chaos in one of Europe’s political centers
-
Crossword: October 30, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
