Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's recent remarks suggesting that "Woke 1 was crazy" have drawn attention, with critics questioning the sincerity and timing of her apparent distancing from the concept. Carlos Lozada, writing in The New York Times, noted her "laugh and a smile" while "distancing herself, whether subtly or overtly, from what is known as wokeism." Lozada posed whether she "truly believe[d] at the time" these ideas, and if so, argued that "jettisoning it now should take something more than a sheepish grin." He called for an acknowledgment of any "dissonance" and an explanation of the shift, rather than an attempt to "explain it away." Questions remain about which specific ideas regarding police abolition, "trans ideology," and "white guilt" she now considers "crazy or cringey or silly." Ocasio-Cortez has the right to change her mind, but commentators suggest she should "explain how and why she’s moving on."
Meanwhile, a separate commentary calls for the United States to restrict reproductive tourism, citing the business of selling human embryos, eggs, and sperm. Emma Waters, writing at The Hill, argues that following the Supreme Court's decision on birthright citizenship, the U.S. should limit these practices, which she contends could potentially offer U.S. passports due to birthright citizenship laws. Between 2014 and 2022, non-U.S. residents accounted for nearly 60,000 assisted reproductive technology cycles, with China alone comprising over 19,000. Waters asserts that international clients are seeking services that are restricted or banned elsewhere, and that "reproductive tourism in the U.S. relies on these ethically fraught" practices. She concluded that "a nation can take seriously its own infertility crisis without operating an open-borders bazaar in embryos, eggs, and passports for the clientele of the entire world."