Virginia Democratic Governor Ralph Northam disgusted many Wednesday when he came out in support of a failed state bill that would have allowed abortions to be carried out on a child that had been fully “delivered.” This came after New York State had signed into law another disgusting bill that allowed abortions up till the due date. These efforts by Democrats went completely unreported during the morning and evening news broadcasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC. And despite their sizeable pro-life audiences, the top two Spanish-language television networks, Telemundo and Univision, ignored it as well.
In contrast, Northam’s abortion comments were the first topic on the table for the Fox News Channel’s Special Report. And during the panel discussion later in the show, the comments prompted Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen to suggest the Democrats were becoming the “party of death.”
In an interview with radio station WTOP, out of Washington, D.C., Northam described how he envisioned the extremely late-term abortions would work in response to a question by NBC4 Northern Virginia bureau chief Julie Carey:
So, in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if that is what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue.
“This is another example of the Democrats putting themselves outside of the mainstream of America by taking radical positions that are completely out of touch with most Americans,” Thiessen decried. What Northam wanted was an abortion system that went far outside what many Americans viewed as acceptable and it was proven by the numbers.
According to Tom Bevan, co-founder of Real Clear Politics, who was also on the Special Report panel, “This Gallup poll, which was taken just in May of 2018, 80 percent of people think it should be illegal -- abortion should be illegal in the third term. And if you get right up to the end, it would be even higher than that.”
Citing a Marist/Knights of Columbus poll from earlier in the month, anchor Bret Baier shared an on-screen graphic that showed only 15 percent of America supported Abortions “any time during pregnancy.” That’s compared to a combined 84 percent of respondents who wanted some kind of restriction on abortion, such as first-trimester and “rape, incest, or to save mother.” 10 percent said abortion “should never be permitted.”
Baier also noted that the poll found that 42 percent of people thought life began “at conception”, compared to the only 13 percent who said “when baby is born.” And 38 percent was spread out between different time periods while still in the mother, including 19 percent who said “when fetus is viable outside the womb.”
The Fox News anchor also highlighted the outrage from Republican politicians:
Ben Sasse, senator, released a statement: “This is morally repugnant. In just a few years, pro-abortion zealots went from ‘safe, legal, rare’ to ‘keep the newborns comfortable while the doctor debates infanticide’. I don't care what party you are from, if you can't say it's wrong to leave babies to die after birth, get the hell out of public office.” Marco Rubio, "I never thought I would see the day American had government officials who openly support legal infanticide." Nikki Haley: What is happening in our country? This literally makes me sick to my stomach. Adoption is always an option.”
Adding another dimension to the conversation, Baier retweeted after the show a clip of John Franklin Stephens, a man living with Down Syndrome, who pleaded before the United Nation last year against Iceland’s barbaric “cure” for him. “I am a man. See me as a human being, not a birth defect, not a syndrome,” he said. “I don’t need to be eradicated. I don't need to be cured. I need to be loved, valued, educated and, sometimes, helped.”
As they were wrapping up that segment, Thiessen pointed out how each party had been approaching the issue of abortion and unloaded on the Democrats: “So, when Republicans are putting reasonable restrictions on abortion, those are things that the 75 percent position. What Democrats are doing are 13 percent or less position, which is saying up until the moment of birth. If you want to see a party has officially become the party of death, that's it.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
Fox News Channel’s Special Report
January 30, 2019
6:39:11 p.m. Eastern(…)
RALPH NORTHAM: When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of obviously the mother, with the consent of the physician. More than one physician, by the way. And it's done in cases where there may be severe deformities. There may be a fetus that’s non-viable. So, in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if that is what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue. [Transition] We want the decision to be made by the mothers and their providers.
BRET BAIER: Well, the Virginia governor getting a lot of reaction to that comment, reacting to use all the discussion in the Virginia state house about a bill that had to deal with late-term abortion. The bill was defeated which is important to point out. But this conversation is happening in different state houses around the country about what to do with abortion rights, pro-choice bills.
This particular day has brought a lot of reaction. Ben Sasse, senator, released a statement: “This is morally repugnant. In just a few years, pro-abortion zealots went from ‘safe, legal, rare’ to ‘keep the newborns comfortable while the doctor debates infanticide’. I don't care what party you are from, if you can't say it's wrong to leave babies to die after birth, get the hell out of public office.” Marco Rubio, "I never thought I would see the day American had government officials who openly support legal infanticide." Nikki Haley: What is happening in our country? This literally makes me sick to my stomach. Adoption is always an option.”
The Virginia Governor's office put out a clarifying statement saying he did support the bill, but he was talking about a specific part of it. Let's bring in our panel.
(…)
MARC THIESSEN: This reminds me of back in 2010 when Barbara Boxer was pilloried because she was asked “when does the right to life begin” and she said when you bring the baby home. We've now come back to this being the official position of the governor of Virginia and, quite frankly, the Democratic Party. This is another example of the Democrats putting themselves outside of the mainstream of America by taking radical positions that are completely out of touch with most Americans.
Even a majority of pro-choice Americans find the idea of third-trimester abortions abhorrent. A Gallup poll shows that 60 percent of Americans support first-trimester abortions, it drops to 28 percent in the second-trimester, third-trimester just 13 percent, and I bet you if you ask those Americans if you support the date of birth, it would be almost zero.
(…)
TOM BEVAN: This Gallup poll, which was taken just in May of 2018, 80 percent of people think it should be illegal -- abortion should be illegal in the third term. And if you get right up to the end, it would be even higher than that. I mean.
BAIER: Let me just put up some other numbers. This is Marist, Knights of Columbus is part of this pole. The views on abortion now, ‘pro-choice, pro-life’, you see the breakdown. Let's go to ‘abortion should be made available to’, and when Amy was talking about this, this is how they break it down. ‘Anytime’, you see ‘first three months’, ‘rape, incest or to save the mother’. And there you see the breakdown.
‘When do you believe a person's life begins?’ At conception, 42 percent. And you see the breakdown there in the percentages again. This is a recent poll January 8th through the tenth. And then the Supreme Court and abortion make it ‘legal without restriction’, allow states to make certain restrictions and that's where the majority is. It’s a plurality, but go ahead.
(…)
BAIER: Where does this end up? The Supreme Court?
THIESSEN: It probably does, absolutely. Look, the difference is between what the Republicans are doing and what the Democrats are doing now. Is that when Republicans were putting restrictions on abortion, that was a 75 percent position. That Knights of Columbus poll you showed said 75 percent would support abortion only in the first three months, in the case of rape, incest, or save the life of the mother, or only to save the life of the mother. So, when Republicans are putting reasonable restrictions on abortion, those are things that the 75 percent position. What Democrats are doing are 13 percent or less position, which is saying up until the moment of birth. If you want to see a party has officially become the party of death, that's it.
