On Thursday morning, journalists on CBS and CNN were aghast at Donald Trump bluntly and accurately describing Hillary Clinton’s support for partial-birth abortion. Attempting to fact-check the Republican nominee on CBS This Morning, former Face the Nation moderator Bob Schieffer falsely asserted: “...no woman carries a child for eight and a half months and then decides she wants to have an abortion.”
He continued: “The abortions that happen at that period are usually about the life of the mother. Nobody does that. And that is just – that's just horrible to even contemplate.”
On CNN’s New Day, anchor Alisyn Camerota pressed Trump surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes on the issue: “Donald Trump used some pretty graphic, certainly striking language about abortion, and he said something that many people just say is not true. That he was basically saying, you know, a woman can demand an abortion one day before her due date, you know, at nine months and it's just so horrific. Not true.”
Co-anchor Chris Cuomo chimed in: “Some would argue that's called birth, if you take a baby out at that last stage, it's viable.” Camerota added: “There are also all sorts of laws in this country that set 18 weeks in some states, 20 weeks in some states, 22 weeks as the limit. So what was he what was he, what was the point he was trying to make last night?”
<<< Please consider helping NewsBusters financially with your tax-deductible contribution today >>>
<<< Thank you for your support! >>>
Such restrictions on the horrific practice were first passed by Republicans in 2003, over the objections of Democrats like Hillary Clinton, something Hughes pointed out:
So the killing of a baby, partial-birth abortion, which Hillary Clinton did support, whether, like I said, even if it's 10, 20 weeks – 20 weeks into their due date, it is just murder in our viewpoint and Mr. Trump took a hard stance yesterday saying that he would fight hard to make sure that the future generation of women would have a chance to live....Hillary Clinton does support partial-birth abortions at different stages...
Cuomo demanded: “But isn't it, Scottie, a reflection of what the law is?...you have to take the women's – the woman's choice and the woman's health into consideration no matter what stage it is....Do you believe that a woman doesn't have a right to decide what happens to their own body?”
Hughes countered: “...what we're talking about is women who have started to use this as a version of birth control who’ve had multiple abortions, who sit there and decide they find out a genetic test that their child might have some sort of mental handicap and decide that they just don't think they can handle that type of child and that is what makes them decide to have an abortion.”
Clinton surrogate Symone Sanders joined the CNN hosts in denying the reality of partial-birth abortion: “[Trump] used very graphic and extreme language to describe what is not happening in terms of just yanking, basically, a full-born baby out of a woman's uterus. That is not what happens.” Before the GOP-led ban on the procedure, that is exactly what happened.
Hughes also cited the case of abortionist Kermit Gosnell being convicted of murder for violating the ban: “ I'm sorry, Symone, the killing of a baby like what we saw with Gosnell, Dr. Gosnell, is graphic. And I think Americans need to know the truth about what abortion is....children who come out still alive and then are murdered, yes, those stories need to be told I think a little bit more, and then maybe we would have women have more of a appreciation for life before they ended it.”
Camerota made sure to get in one last dig: “The majority of voters support keeping abortion legal, so I'm glad we're clarifying all of this.”
Here are transcripts of the October 20 remarks on CBS and CNN:
CBS This Morning
8:06 AM ET(...)
NORAH O’DONNELL: The non-partisan commission wanted a deep drill-down on the issues and I think we got that last night. As you said, Bob, the Supreme Court right out of the box, the issue of the Second Amendment, the issue of abortion and Roe vs. Wade. What do you think about Trump's answer on that?
BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, when he says, you know, “You're willing to rip a baby out of the womb at nine months,” no woman carries a child for eight and a half months and then decides she wants to have an abortion. The abortions that happen at that period are usually about the life of the mother. Nobody does that. And that is just – that's just horrible to even contemplate.
(...)
New Day
7:53 AM ETCHRIS CUOMO: Until Trump's disavowal of democracy, there had been some real deep diving last night on different issues, especially women's issues, in a way that we haven't heard it to date in this race. The question is, how did the candidates do on this issue? Was there any distance made? Let's discuss. Scottie Nell Hughes is a Trump supporter, she’s with us. Simone Sanders, a Clinton supporter who was the national press secretary for Bernie Sanders’ primary campaign. You had a real deep discussion on why they feel what they feel, not just about the Supreme Court, but its extension to Roe v. Wade. What did you make of Hillary Clinton's position there?
SYMONE SANDERS: So, I thought Hillary Clinton took the position of standing up for the rights of women and advocating that it is extremely important that we, you know, don't allow the government to police women's bodies, that an abortion is a very personal decision that a woman has to make and we need to preserve that, you know, personal decision to be between that woman, and you know, her family, God, and her doctor.
I thought it was interesting, though, that Donald Trump specifically spoke about that he would elect justices that would or he would appoint justices that would make sure Roe v. Wade was overturned, and that was something that I had never heard before. But I was excited to have a substantive conversation about the reproductive rights of women because that is something we haven't seen in this election just yet.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Scottie, Donald Trump used some pretty graphic, certainly striking language about abortion, and he said something that many people just say is not true. That he was basically saying, you know, a woman can demand an abortion one day before her due date, you know, at nine months and it's just so horrific. Not true. There are –
CUOMO: Some would argue that's called birth, if you take a baby out at that last stage, it's viable.
CAMEROTA: There are also all sorts of laws in this country that set 18 weeks in some states, 20 weeks in some states, 22 weeks as the limit. So what was he what was he, what was the point he was trying to make last night?
SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES: Well, let me first echo Symone's statement that I agree, I though it was wonderful that we finally had a substantive debate about where the candidates stood on this issue. Now, for those of us in the pro-life movement, it doesn't matter whether it's one day or all the way up to, you know, a few weeks before birth, having an abortion is murder to us. So the killing of a baby, partial-birth abortion, which Hillary Clinton did support, whether, like I said, even if it's 10, 20 weeks – 20 weeks into their due date, it is just murder in our viewpoint and Mr. Trump took a hard stance yesterday saying that he would fight hard to make sure that the future generation of women would have a chance to live. So I think this was a very good clear definition between the two. But it is a fact, Hillary Clinton does support partial-birth abortions at different stages, and that is just something that us in the pro-life movement in no way can support.
CUOMO: But isn't it, Scottie, a reflection of what the law is? Roe v. Wade is a complex decision, it's not as simple as we often make it. But their decision the – the essence of it is you have to take the women's – the woman's choice and the woman's health into consideration no matter what stage it is, that the state is going to decide to regulate. Do you believe that a woman doesn't have a right to decide what happens to their own body?
HUGHES: Well, outside of the case of rape or incest or obviously the woman's life is in hands – which that still makes you pro-life – that her life is at risk. And Hillary Clinton yesterday tried to muddy the water, saying, you know, a woman's life might be at risk, a mother's life might be at risk. That's still pro-life. We're not talking about those – those situations. That's a different – what we're talking about is women who have started to use this as a version of birth control who’ve had multiple abortions, who sit there and decide they find out a genetic test that their child might have some sort of mental handicap and decide that they just don't think they can handle that type of child and that is what makes them decide to have an abortion. Those issues right there, yes, you know, I'm sorry, that child does have a right to live and I'm speaking on behalf of them. Not necessarily the mother that chooses that she wouldn't want to raise them.
SANDERS: I think the only person that tried to muddy the waters last night in speaking about abortion was Donald Trump. He used very graphic and extreme language to describe what is not happening in terms of just yanking, basically, a full-born baby out of a woman's uterus. That is not what happens.
You know, an abortion is a very personal decision that a person has to make. And to stand on the stage last night and make it seem as though that it's just something flippant, something that people elect to do on a regular basis. Not at all. You know, look, if Republicans in Congress weren't blocking Planned Parenthood at every single angle, an organization that provides medical care, not just abortions, but medical care, health care to women and men across this country, you know, maybe, maybe we could be having a better substantive conversation about this.
So I think we have to look at this holistically, Donald Trump is the only person who tried to muddy the waters. He took a very extreme stance. A very extreme conservative stance. Roe v. Wade is – overall, Republicans don't necessarily support overturning Roe v. Wade, if you look at the polling and the data. So he was speaking to the Trump base last night, wasn't speaking to the broad base of the Republican Party, and definitely wasn't trying to win over any moderate Democrats. And Hillary Clinton stood up for the rights of women, she stood with Planned Parenthood, and I was happy to see that.
CUOMO: Quick button, Scottie, we got to get going.
HUGHES: Hold on, let me can I – real quick let me disagree with her on that point. The Republican base is pro-life. They do not support Planned Parenthood and I'm sorry, Symone, the killing of a baby like what we saw with Gosnell, Dr. Gosnell, is graphic. And I think Americans need to know the truth about what abortion is. When you do have babies who come out that you can actually tell that they are a life form. So those in the pro-life movement who have studied what abortions do and children who come out still alive and then are murdered, yes, those stories need to be told I think a little bit more, and then maybe we would have women have more of a appreciation for life before they ended it.
CAMEROTA: The majority of voters support keeping abortion legal, so I'm glad we're clarifying all of this. Scottie, Symone, thank you very much.
