The final presidential debate featured a back-and-forth on abortion, including on the not so rare and misunderstood late-term abortion procedure as well as the partial-birth abortion procedure, which resulted in annually 5,000 abortions, mostly on healthy babies, before a federal ban was passed. As Live Action News’ Kristi Burton Brown pointed out, despite a federal ban, partial-birth abortion is still legal in certain states and certain situations.
So if you’re anything like me, you may have felt discouraged to see your social media feed full of articles claiming that late-term abortions are only performed for dire medical reasons — or worse, the blatant lie that 9 month abortions don’t even occur.
As Live Action News has already covered, The Washington Post erred in their “fact-check” about 9 month abortions. Other media outlets doing inaccurate “fact-checks” included USA Today and CNN, which rated claims about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s support for abortions in the 9th month “true, but misleading.”
Perhaps the question we should be asking ourselves is, “Why the denial? Why is the pro-abortion media so determined to pretend that third trimester abortions don’t happen?”
Several media outlets picked up the story of a Utah woman who incorrectly claimed that her C-section was a late-term abortion. The process of inducing labor or performing a C-section to save the life of the mother, which tragically but unintentionally killed the child, is not an abortion. This cannot be emphasized enough.
Vox and The Huffington Post ran articles by a woman who was the one to tweet out that these abortions don’t occur (debunked here). The Inquistr referred to Vox in its own reporting. Additionally, Media Matters For America mocked people like Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, who voiced his opposition to late-term and partial-birth abortions. Newsbusters covered the deceptive media, also referencing Rolling Stone and NPR.
At least 20 news sites have covered the tragedy of late-term and partial-birth abortion, but in doing so, many have misled their readers by mischaracterizing the presidential candidates’ positions on the issue, or by justifying late-term abortions, or even by inaccurately reporting on how often and why late-term abortions occur.
These sites included:
- Forbes: “No, Late-Term Abortions Don’t ‘Rip’ Babies Out of the Wombs–And They Exist For A Reason;” “Trump and GOP’s Ignorance About Abortion Will Kill Women“
- U.S. Uncut: “Sorry Trump, abortions do not happen at 9 months pregnant“
- Romper: “Abortion At 9 Months Of Pregnancy Isn’t A Thing, Making Trump’s Rhetoric Wrong & Dangerous;” “Donald Trump’s “Rip The Baby” Rant During The Final Debate Is Not Acceptable“
- Jezebel: “Donald Trump’s Understanding of a Late-Term Abortion: ‘You Rip the Baby Out of the Womb‘”
- The New York Times: “Trump Said Women Get Abortions Days Before Birth. Doctors Say They Don’t.“
- USA Today: “Ripped from the womb? Late-term abortion explained“
- Bustle: “I Had A Late-Term Abortion, And Donald Trump Has Absolutely No Idea What That Means“
- The Daily Beast, which had the same author also previously incorrectly asserteding Hillary Clinton doesn’t support partial-birth abortion: “Donald Trump’s Abortion Fanfic“
- Shape Magazine: “How Late in Pregnancy Can You *Actually* Have an Abortion?”
- Yahoo News: “What Donald Trump Got Wrong About Abortion;” “Late-Term Abortions Don’t ‘Rip’ Babies From Wombs: I Know Because I Had to Consider One;” “‘What Kind of Mother Is 8 Months Pregnant and Wants An Abortion?‘”
- Vogue’s Most Shared Story: “Hillary Clinton Awesomely Defended Abortion Rights at the Debate“
- Teen Vogue: “Hillary Clinton Just FLAWLESSLY Defended a Woman’s Right to Choose at the Presidential Debate“
- ThinkProgress: “Hillary Clinton’s incredibly powerful defense of women’s right to choose;” “Donald Trump spews incorrect facts about late-term abortion during final debate“
- Fusion: “Donald Trump proves he doesn’t know the first thing about women who have abortions“
- Cosmopolitan: “11 Best Twitter Responses to Trump’s “Rip a Baby” Comment“
- Mashable: “Clinton schools Trump on how abortions work;” “Shonda Rhimes drops the hammer on Trump in one badass tweet“
- Vice: “Donald Trump Got So Much Wrong About Late-Term Abortions“
Many of these sites claim to quote experts, but according to the actual abortionists in the United States who commit late-term and third trimester abortions, abortions are performed late in pregnancy at seven, eight, and nine months, and on healthy babies. Who are we supposed to believe: a doctor who does not have such experience with abortions, or an abortionist who has done them with his own hands? Former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levatino, explains the most common abortions at AbortionProcedures.com, including this one:
As horrifying as it may seem, the United States is one of only four nations where abortion is allowed until birth, for any reason. In seven states, there are no gestational limits on abortions. Also, Roe v. Wade’s companion case, Doe v. Bolton, established exceptions for “health” of the mother. The late abortionist George Tiller used this exception in Kansas to perform late-term abortions on teen girls because they would suffer “mental health” for not being able to attend a rock concert or the prom.
As discouraging as this media onslaught may seem, it’s important to continue to speak out and educate our friends, family members, and social media connections.
Fortunately, pro-life individuals and groups have already been doing so via Facebook, including Students for Life of America and Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate.
As barbaric as late-term abortion, especially partial-birth abortion, is, there are still individuals and media outlets who support it. Even when pro-lifers have the truth and humanity on their side, it can feel difficult to stand up in the face of adversity — but it’s necessary, when lives are at stake.
