For those fearing the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, ABC’s Good Morning America has good news: California is here to help.
During a taped report, correspondent Zohreen Shah used left-wing euphemisms while reporting that California has become a haven for out-of-state abortion seekers, “The Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research organization, estimating there could be nearly a 3,000% increase of out of state women whose closest abortion clinic will be in California. Ever since September when Texas's restrictive ban took effect providers have been seeing surges.”
Shah then played a clip of Dr. Laura Dalton, a chief medical officer of a California Planned Parenthood hyping the fact that “We're able to increase capacity by 250 to 500 patients a week.”
As if California wasn’t liberal enough, Shah then declared that “California already has laws not requiring patient disclosure even if they are out of state. But lawmakers are now trying to take greater steps.”
Those measures include abortions provided by the state, as an unidentified woman declared “Our message to women across the country is California will be a place where you can get answers. It will be a place where we will embrace you and help you with all of the information you need and if it means providing the ability to help you get here.”
Shah acknowledged that not everyone is thrilled with this and played a clip of California Family Council President Jonathan Keller declaring, “Part of our huge concern with so-called abortion tourism, is that the state of California would using taxpayer dollars that, in our opinion, should be going to mothers and families here in the Golden State and would instead be incentivizing people to fly across the country to California to receive free abortions.”
It was nice that Shah allowed for someone to oppose the taxpayer-funded abortions, but she did not allow Keller to argue against the evils of abortion itself. But, she did allow the opposite, “California resident Abby Fanio was six weeks in when she discovered she was pregnant. It took another month to get an abortion, but she says she at least had the option.”
Shah then asked Fanio her reaction to Roe potentially falling and that “some will have to travel thousands of miles to get the care you got?”
Fanio claimed to be “really scared” and that abortion was the “only way I called myself down in that moment” of first seeing a positive pregnancy test.
While the rest of the media likes to focus on rare cases of rape and incest, by Guttmacher’s own numbers, here ABC interviewed someone who sought an abortion out of nothing but convenience.
Of course, the contradiction went unnoticed. Instead, Shah, back live, suggested that restricting abortion could cause women to die , “And CDC director Rochelle Walensky says her fear is for women who don't have the resources to travel. She says they might take matters into their own hands and she says lives could be at stake.”
Oh, the irony.
This segment was sponsored by Checkers.
Here is a transcript for the May 7 show:
ABC Good Morning America
5/7/2022
9:06 AM ET
ZOHREEN SHAH: There’s also an effort to protect abortion access, but those are all likely to fail. So now many states are urgently trying to take action.
SHAH [VOICEOVER]: This morning, many states bracing for potential Roe v. Wade reversal.
[ Crowd chanting ]
Leaving abortion up to individual states. Nearly half, likely or certain to ban abortion in most cases. The Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research organization, estimating there could be nearly a 3,000% increase of out of state women whose closest abortion clinic will be in California. Ever since September when Texas's restrictive ban took effect providers have been seeing surges.
LAURA DALTON: We've seen a doubling of the number of patients coming from outside of California and we expect that to only increase.
SHAH: Dr. Laura Dalton has been anticipating more out of state women at the country's largest Planned Parenthood.
DALTON: We're able to increase capacity by 250 to 500 patients a week.
SHAH: California already has laws not requiring patient disclosure even if they are out of state. But lawmakers are now trying to take greater steps.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Our message to women across the country is California will be a place where you can get answers. It will be a place where we will embrace you and help you with all of the information you need and if it means providing the ability to help you get here.
SHAH: Thirteen state bills proposed after Texas' ban everything ranging from paying for travel to preventing criminalization but already some Californians voice opposition.
JONATHAN KELLER: Part of our huge concern with so-called abortion tourism, is that the state of California would using taxpayer dollars that, in our opinion, should be going to mothers and families here in the Golden State and would instead be incentivizing people to fly across the country to California to receive free abortions.
SHAH: California resident Abby Fanio was six weeks in when she discovered she was pregnant. It took another month to get an abortion, but she says she at least had the option.
SHAH [ON CAMERA]: What is your reaction hearing that there's going to be a likely Roe reversal and some will have to travel thousands of miles to get the care you got?
ABBY FANIO: Really scared. I, like I can still sort of feel the shot of adrenaline that went through me when I saw that positive pregnancy test and the only way I calmed myself down in that moment was knowing that I had a choice to get a safe abortion.
SHAH [LIVE]: And CDC director Rochelle Walensky says her fear is for women who don't have the resources to travel. She says they might take matters into their own hands and she says lives could be at stake. Guys?
