While a guest on the Dana Loesch radio show, Wisconsin governor -- and likely 2016 presidential candidate -- Scott Walker defended a state law requiring women seeking abortions to get an ultrasound because if “more people saw” their “unborn child, they would choose to protect and keep the life of that unborn child.”
That comment drew fire from Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood pro-abortion organization, who abandoned the usual liberal claim to be for “science” and encouraged people to tell Walker that “Forced Transvaginal Ultrasounds Are Cruel, Not Cool,” even though the GOP official never made that comment.
The governor spoke about several issues -- including immigration, the economy and education -- before host Dana Loesch asked:
What place do you think social issues have in 2016? And why do you think so many Republican candidates are scared of them?
"Well, I think a little bit of it in the media is a 'gotcha;' some do at least. I don't want to say universally," he noted before adding:
I'll give you an example. I'm pro-life; I've passed pro-life legislation. We defunded Planned Parenthood; we signed a law that requires an ultrasound. … The media tried to make that sound like that was a crazy idea.
Most people I talk to, whether they're pro-life or not, I find people all the time who'll get out their iPhone and show me a picture of their grandkid's ultrasound and how excited they are, so that's a lovely thing.
“I think about my sons, [who] are 19 and 20. You know, we still have their first ultrasound picture,” the governor noted. Having an ultrasound of their boys is “just a cool thing out there.”
On her website, Loesch commented:
Anyone with the reading comprehension of a dolphin knows that Walker was specifically describing ultrasound images, not the legislation itself. Yes, it is cool that women seeking an abortion as a form of birth control must think and see the life they are ending before ending it.
Maryland has a seven-day waiting period to buy a gun, and defense to save lives and liberty are Constitutional. Waiting periods blow, don't they?
Nevertheless, it didn't take long for “mainstream media” outlets to twist the governor's comments into something he never said.
For example, the Huffington Post had a headline that read: “Scott Walker Defends Mandatory Ultrasounds: 'They're a Cool Thing.'”
The Talking Points Memo site has this title: “Scott Walker: Mandatory Ultrasounds Are 'Just a Cool Thing' for Women.”
Of course, the harshest response of all came from Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood, who followed the misleading information while stating: “Let's get one thing straight: Forcing women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds before letting them access safe, legal abortion is not a 'lovely' or a 'cool thing.'”
Richards then accused Walker of “bragging about how he signed Wisconsin's law mandating a medically unnecessary transvaginal ultrasound for any woman seeking abortion -- a law designed to shame and demean her.”
However, Thomas D. Williams stated on the Breitbart.com website: “All of these reactions were based on a lie.”
“In its statement, the abortion provider repeated the disturbing adjective 'transvaginal' four times, every time it mentioned 'ultrasound,'” Williams noted. “The Wisconsin law signed by Walker, on the other hand, says nothing about transvaginal ultrasounds, which are rarely used for looking at a developing fetus.”
“A normal, 'transabdominal' ultrasound used during pregnancy is a non-invasive procedure,” he added, “that involves spreading a clear, water-based gel on the belly and moving a hand-held probe across the area.”
“Perhaps the most bizarre aspect of Planned Parenthood’s hysterical reaction” to the practice of ultrasound is that it is “medically unnecessary,” Williams asserted.
Soon after Walker signed the law, representatives of Affiliated Medical Services, a Milwaukee abortion provider, noted in an opinion piece in the Huffington Post that their clinic has always required ultrasounds.
“If you go to an abortion clinic that doesn’t insist on an ultrasound, you should walk out the door. It’s just bad medicine,” the article said.
Also during his interview with Dana Loesch, Walker added that issues like abortion "shouldn't be the only thing" conservatives focus on. "We should make sure that people know us for fiscal and economic strengths as well.”
“When you think about Hillary Clinton, and you think about some others on the left,” he noted, “you say, 'I think it's reasonable, whether you're pro-life or not, to say that taxpayers' dollars shouldn't be spent to support abortion or abortion-related activities.'”
“Most Americans believe in that,” Walker noted, but “many candidates on the left … don't share that belief.” Apparently, liberals only believe in science when it agrees with their opinions.
Correction: An earlier version of this post inaccurately suggested the Dana Loesch radio show aired on National Public Radio. We regret the error.
