the US presidential election it's a vast and complicated Affair but often one topic or issue stands out in 2016 it was immigration in 2020 it was the pandemic and in 2024 it's suddenly about having children take last night's Showdown the number of topics a number of topics were on the table economy foreign policy immigration gun control we told you all about it but another hot button issue was part of this list and that's abortion Kamala Harris gave a forceful defense of abortion right she talked about the dire medical situation she gave searing details and blamed it all on Donald Trump meanwhile Trump accused her of lying he said that he believes in exceptions for rape incest and to save the life of the mother he also claimed to be a leader on IVF and so it went back and forth but amid the blame game one remark stood out when Harris said the government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body but from youth to old age a woman's body is not seen as her own it is viewed as something to comment on to regulate and this extends to women's choice or ability to have children giving birth is seen as a woman's Duty it is a playing Ground for critique is she having children why not if yes then when how many hopefully soon but not too soon everything is a matter of public opinion so what is personal often becomes public and political in the moments after the debate wrapped pop icon Taylor Swift weighed in she endorsed Kamala Harris in an Instagram post she signed it off as childless cat lady that's her way of owning the infamous J by Trump's running mid JD van but soon after this happened Trump's supporter Elon Musk to took to Twitter and he responded to Swift with an offer of insemination he said and I quote fine Taylor you win I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life that has got to be a skill being both cross and condescending at the same time now musk has fathered 12 known children he's in a custody battle with a former girlfriend over three of them he had another three children with one of his employees he has promoted unfounded panic over population collapse he has spread population conspiracy theories and said things like I'm doing my part haha maybe he wants to populate the entire planet himself and looking at the trajectory he's doing a fantastic job haha indeed but does this or anything give musk or Vans or Trump for that matter the right to demand children from others what is this some cult Fertility clinic the fact is they talk about children when it suits them when it suits their political needs earlier Donald Trump indicated that he would support a National Abortion ban when Harris brought it up last night he accused her of lying and don't get us wrong this is not a republican issue take President Joe Biden for example he is an 81-year-old Catholic he long opposed abortion he was never comfortable talking about it yet when it came to policies and debates he would give bumbling remarks in favor because it is important to the Democrats and this is not just a US US issue either this year France made abortion a constitutional right they didn't have to but they did it so that President Emanuel macron could Curry favor another example is Poland they outlawed abortion four years ago when the rightwing was in power and now they have a new prime minister he wants to overturn it so it doesn't matter which country it is child birth is a political Battleground and women's bodies are the collateral damage to the point that personal choices are seen as a political reflection take the UK for example in 2016 Teresa may was vying to be the Prime Minister she does not have children and her opponent made it a point to highlight this she said being a mom means you have a real stake in the future of our country a tangible stake 10 on 10 logic and quite unfortunate if I may add the world over women are expected to have children if they don't live up to this expectation their called names childless cat lady Crown Old Maid at the same time the stigma is entirely a woman's burden men are completely left out of the equation so it is a woman's responsibility to have children to take care of them to raise them and to handle most of the unpaid labor but men they just have to talk about motherhood Apparently that is enough because God forbid we stop judging women for choices that are Theirs to make and actually focus on policies that can help people who want to be parents