In a surprising moment of candor during a panel discussion this afternoon about the new Planned Parenthood sting video by the Center for Medical Progress, MSNBC guest Cristina Beltran protested that what's "really horrific" is not selling the body parts of aborted babies for medical research but "women being forced to bear children against their will."
Perhaps sensing that her guest had stepped in it, Now host Alex Wagner quickly jumped in to soften the blow to viewers who may not be on board with abortion-on-demand:
Well, in a lot of cases, this is women who have complicating health situations that are forced to terminate pregnancies, not by choice, but because their survival demands it.
Here's the relevant transcript:
MSNBC
Now with Alex Wagner
July 15, 2015
4:39 p.m. Eastern
CRISTINA BELTRAN, NYU professor: The reality is that Planned Parenthood does work for these working class women. And yes, abortion is a horrific space of loss, and so the people who are getting these, who are donating their fetal tissue are doing it because they can make something positive, something productive out of it. I mean, you think about, people who donate their bodies to science after they die or a family member who donates their eyes or something like that. I mean, what's really horrific is women who are pregnant being forced to bear children against their will. That's horrific. So, you know the fact that we have the optics on this is really less important.
ALEX WAGNER: Well, in a lot of cases, this is women who have complicating health situations that are forced to terminate pregnancies, not by choice, but because their survival demands it.
BELTRAN: And this gives them a certain kind of solace. From that.
IRIN CARMON, MSNBC.com: For women who are choosing it, this is the best option for them. For some women it may not be horrible. For some women it may just be this is best thing that I can choose in a terrible circumstance.
