In the wake of the parent companies of NBC, ABC, and CBS joining the Hollywood effort to bully the state of Georgia into abandoning pro-life legislation, on Friday, all three network morning shows continued providing biased pro-abortion coverage while reporting on the contentious political issue.
“Heated battle....Protests in Missouri with the state’s last abortion clinic set to close down in just hours. The last-minute fight to keep it open,” co-host Savannah Guthrie breathlessly announced leading off NBC’s Today show. In the report that followed minutes later, correspondent Stephanie Gosk assured viewers: “Well, Planned Parenthood is fighting to keep that clinic in St. Louis open past tonight’s midnight deadline....All this as heated protests over abortion are held across the nation.”
Amid persistent soundbites throughout the piece of pro-abortion activists taking to the streets, Gosk seemed to join the fight:
This morning, a battle cry in St. Louis....Planned Parenthood fighting to keep the state’s only abortion provider open....Supporters of abortion rights are not backing down....And in Louisiana, more protests....The abortion debate is growing louder as states across the nation introduce bills to restrict the procedure.
The report ended with one Planned Parenthood supporter ranting: “Let’s continue to fight long and hard together for free abortion on demand without apology!”
Guthrie then eagerly touted efforts by the entertainment industry to intimidate Georgia over it’s pro-life bill: “Stephanie, I know there are some – already some ramifications for some of these bills that have passed in the south, with Hollywood.”
Gosk detailed the economic threats:
Yeah. Actually, the state of Georgia, which interestingly has become a major film destination, you have Netflix, Disney, and our parent company NBCUniversal saying they’re going to rethink filming in that state. Which could be a real blow to Georgia. They’re rethinking in case Georgia decides to enforce this bill that they signed, one of these heartbeat bills. Georgia gets 92,000 jobs, nearly $3 billion in revenue from this filming. It would be a huge blow for them. And they try to entice film companies to the state by giving them tax credits, 20% tax credits. Another 10% if they use the peach logo. Already we know that some productions have pulled those productions from Georgia. The Power, which is an upcoming series, and a Kristen Wiig movie are being pulled.
On ABC’s Good Morning America, co-host Amy Robach proclaimed: “Now to new developments in the escalating battle over abortion.” She worried: “Nearly a dozen states are now imposing new restrictions this year, including Georgia, which is also facing some backlash from major studios.”
Starting off his report, correspondent Steve Osunsami warned: “Anti-abortion forces have been quite open about their plans here, which is to fight this issue state by state.” He turned to St. Louis as one example: “This morning, Missouri is close to losing its very last abortion clinic....Demonstrators in Missouri are taking their anger to the St. Louis Arch and to state offices downtown.”
Like Gosk’s report for NBC, Osunsami’s story was loaded with clips of pro-abortion protesters marching and chanting their support for Planned Parenthood.
The reporter repeated Robach’s dire declaration: “Nearly a dozen states, including Louisiana, Ohio, and Georgia passed similar laws this year, all designed to meet up at the U.S. Supreme Court and challenge a woman’s right to an abortion.”
Wrapping up the segment, Osunsami highlighted media companies jumping into the fray:
This morning, several major film and television studios are now threatening to no longer film their movies and TV shows here in Georgia because of the law that was passed here. That is potentially a major business decision. Some of the biggest movies in the world have been filmed here, the Avengers, Hunger Games. NBCUniversal, CBS Showtime, Warner Media, and Disney, the parent company of this network, are expressing serious concerns.
Co-host George Stephanopoulos chimed in: “Yeah, huge economic impact.”
CBS This Morning was just as fearful as the Today show and GMA, with co-host Gayle King asserting that “It’s a scary time for a lot of people.” That came after correspondent Anna Werner told viewers that many states were “one closure away from having zero [abortion] clinics.”
This week, Disney, CBS Corporation, and NBCUniversal all declared their intention to stop filming in the state of Georgia if new legislation protecting unborn children with a detectable heartbeat is signed into law by Republican Governor Brian Kemp. Therefore, it’s no wonder that employees for those media companies on NBC News, ABC News, and CBS News have dutifully kept up their effort to cheer on pro-abortion protesters while ripping pro-life legislation. They know what their bosses expect of them.
Here is a full transcript of the May 31 report on NBC’s Today show:
7:08 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: And now to the battle that’s raging coast to coast over abortion. Overnight, Louisiana’s governor signed a strict new ban into law. And today, Missouri’s last abortion clinic could be shut down if a judge doesn’t intervene and stop it. NBC’s Stephanie Gosk is here with more. Steph, good morning.
STEPHANIE GOSK: Good morning, guys. Well, Planned Parenthood is fighting to keep that clinic in St. Louis open past tonight’s midnight deadline. It’s in the hands of a judge right now. All this as heated protests over abortion are held across the nation.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Abortion Debate Rages On; Protests Amid Key Legal Fight in Missouri]
PROTESTER: No more! No more!
GOSK: This morning, a battle cry in St. Louis.
PROESTERS: Stand up! Fight back!
GOSK: Planned Parenthood fighting to keep the state’s only abortion provider open.
PROTESTER: Missouri is about to go dark. And could be the first state in the country with no health care center that provides abortion. [Crowd booing]
GOSK: At midnight, the clinic’s license expires. Planned Parenthood in court trying to keep the doors open.
M’EVIE MEAD [PLANNED PARENTHOOD ADVOCATES OF MISSOURI DIRECTOR]: Shame on Missouri politicians and Missouri government for weaponizing the licensing and regulatory process end safe and legal abortion in Missouri.
GOSK: Attorneys for the state say the health department found safety violations at the clinic during an inspection in March and the license shouldn’t be renewed until those violations are corrected.
GOV. MIKE PARSON [R-MO]: If you don’t provide a standard of care that ensures the safety of women, you shouldn’t be allowed to operate. It’s that simple.
GOSK: Planned Parenthood insists it’s in compliance with state laws and patient safety is it’s top priority.
MEAD: The state is just continuing to move their requests and demands in an arbitrary and capricious way in order to not allow safe and legal abortion in the state.
PROTESTERS: Stand up! Fight back!
GOSK: Supporters of abortion rights are not backing down. Even after Missouri’s governor signed a bill last week banning abortion in the state after the eighth week of pregnancy.
PROTESTERS: Abortion rights are here to stay!
GOSK: Some protesters taken away in handcuffs.
PROTESTERS: Stop the bans!
GOSK: And in Louisiana, more protests. The governor signed the state’s new abortion law late Thursday. The so-called heartbeat law outlaws abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The abortion debate is growing louder as states across the nation introduce bills to restrict the procedure.
PROTESTER: Let’s continue to fight long and hard together for free abortion on demand without apology!
GUTHRIE: Stephanie, I know there are some – already some ramifications for some of these bills that have passed in the south, with Hollywood.
GOSK: Yeah. Actually, the state of Georgia, which interestingly has become a major film destination, you have Netflix, Disney, and our parent company NBCUniversal saying they’re going to rethink filming in that state. Which could be a real blow to Georgia. They’re rethinking in case Georgia decides to enforce this bill that they signed, one of these heartbeat bills. Georgia gets 92,000 jobs, nearly $3 billion in revenue from this filming. It would be a huge blow for them. And they try to entice film companies to the state by giving them tax credits, 20% tax credits. Another 10% if they use the peach logo. Already we know that some productions have pulled those productions from Georgia. The Power, which is an upcoming series, and a Kristen Wiig movie are being pulled.
GUTHRIE: Alright, it will be interesting to see how that develops. Thank you, Stephanie.
Here is a full transcript of the report on ABC’s GMA:
7:11 AM ET
AMY ROBACH: Now to new developments in the escalating battle over abortion. The last clinic in Missouri on the verge of closing today. And overnight, in Louisiana, the Democratic governor signed the state’s so-called heartbeat bill into law. Nearly a dozen states are now imposing new restrictions this year, including Georgia, which is also facing some backlash from major studios. ABC’s Steve Osunsami has more from Atlanta. Good morning, Steve.
STEVE OSUNSAMI: Good morning, Amy. Anti-abortion forces have been quite open about their plans here, which is to fight this issue state by state.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Abortion Ban Backlash; Protests Grow as Shutdown of Last Missouri Clinic Looms]
OSUNSAMI: This morning, Missouri is close to losing its very last abortion clinic. State health officials here are refusing to renew the St. Louis clinic’s license until doctors agree to interviews about what the Governor’s claiming to be a series of deficiencies. Demonstrators in Missouri are taking their anger to the St. Louis Arch and to state offices downtown.
PROTESTER: Abortion access is under attack! What do we do?!
CROWD: Stand up! Fight back!
OSUNSAMI: The fate of the clinic lies in the hands of a federal judge, who is still deciding whether or not to step in.
GOV. MIKE PARSON [R-MO]: This is not an issue about the pro-life issue at all. This is about a standard of care for women in the state of Missouri.
OSUNSAMI: If the court doesn’t rule by the end of the day, the clinic will be forced to close for now.
M’EVIE MEAD [DIRECTOR, PLANNED PARENTHOOD ADVOCATES OF MISSOURI]: We do not want to be the first state in the nation to lose access to safe, legal abortion. And that’s what the state is trying to do.
OSUNSAMI: Nearly a dozen states, including Louisiana, Ohio, and Georgia passed similar laws this year, all designed to meet up at the U.S. Supreme Court and challenge a woman’s right to an abortion.
This morning, several major film and television studios are now threatening to no longer film their movies and TV shows here in Georgia because of the law that was passed here. That is potentially a major business decision. Some of the biggest movies in the world have been filmed here, the Avengers, Hunger Games. NBCUniversal, CBS Showtime, Warner Media, and Disney, the parent company of this network, are expressing serious concerns. George?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Yeah, huge economic impact. Okay, Steve, thanks very much.
