In a Friday evening liberal screed disguised as a report on ABC’s World News Tonight, anchor David Muir and senior national correspondent Terry Moran had a wider audience to spew their hatred of the conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices after they overturned Roe v. Wade earlier in the day. Between the two, it’s clear the network was in mourning for the nonexistent “right” to kill an unborn baby.
“And we begin tonight with the historic and sweeping ruling from the Supreme Court. The conservative majority by a 6-3 vote overturning Roe vs. Wade,” announced a dour Muir at the top of the newscast. “The right to choose abortion that had stood for half a century in this country, a nearly 50-year precedent.”
Muir immediately followed that up with a warning about the states that had trigger laws go into effect immediately upon the overturning of Roe:
The court turning the issue over to the states, and tonight 13 states have already had so-called trigger laws on the books already banning abortions, set to go into effect immediately. Six states now banning abortion. Missouri and Oklahoma among them. And in all, 26 states plan to ban or severely restrict abortion now.
And despite the fact they had nothing to worry about because they lived in a liberal state, Muir highlighted people protesting in Washington Square Park in New York City.
At the top of his report, Moran huffed about the “upheaval” that overturning Roe caused. “In a sweeping ruling that overturned a half a century of precedents, five justices ended the right of American women to choose abortion under the Constitution,” he decried as if it was somehow unfair.
Delivering his biased framing of Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion, Moran said it was “scorning the idea that the Constitution protects a right to choose abortion.” “Roe was on a collision course with the constitution from the day it was decided,” was how Alito put it. “It is time to heed the constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives."
Moran then suggested that Chief Justice John Roberts was being dragged along by a runaway, extremist conservative majority:
Chief justice John Roberts joined the conservative majority in upholding the Mississippi law, but he insisted the court did not need to overturn Roe. Instead, he searched for some middle ground, pleading, "None of this, however, requires that we also take the dramatic step of altogether eliminating the abortion right first recognized in Roe."
“And from the liberal wing,” he touted, “a scathing, agonized dissent.” He seemingly took pleasure in the way retiring Justice Stephen Breyer lashed out at the conservative justices appointed by former President Trump and asserted the ruling was improper:
Justice Stephen Breyer arguing that Alito's ruling is based on nothing more than the fact that three new justices appointed by Donald Trump -- Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanagh, and Amy Coney Barrett -- cast decisive votes to overturn Roe. "Neither law nor facts nor attitudes have provided any new reasons to reach a different result than Roe did. All that has changed is this court," Breyer wrote.
And in the dissent's last line, Breyer, along with Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, struck a somber note. "With sorrow for this court, but more for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection, we dissent."
“The impact of today's ruling will be immediate,” Moran lamented. “13 states have trigger laws that end access to abortion now that roe is overruled. 13 more states are now expected to move quickly to ban abortion. Abortion-rights groups are bracing for this new reality in America.”
He also promoted the hyperbolic and dangerous rhetoric used by President Biden and former President Obama in the wake of the ruling.
ABC’s mourning for Roe v. Wade was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Procter & Gamble and Ensure. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript was below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
June 24, 2022
6:32:45 p.m. EasternDAVID MUIR: And we begin tonight with the historic and sweeping ruling from the Supreme Court. The conservative majority by a 6-3 vote overturning Roe vs. Wade. The right to choose abortion that had stood for half a century in this country, a nearly 50-year precedent.
The court turning the issue over to the states, and tonight 13 states have already had so-called trigger laws on the books already banning abortions, set to go into effect immediately. Six states now banning abortion. Missouri and Oklahoma among them. And in all, 26 states plan to ban or severely restrict abortion now.
Tonight these images coming in from across the country, the demonstrations and protests. These images from New York City. Washington Square Park at this hour. And outside the Supreme Court, crowds growing all day. One side declaring victory, the other side in disbelief that this is no longer a decision protected across this country between a woman and her doctor.
Abortion rights opponents celebrating a victory 50 years in the making. Abortion rights supporters stunned a 50-year precedent has been overturned, vowing to fight this.
A Mississippi law at the heart of this case, a ban on abortions after 15 weeks, the court upholding that law, and five of the justices going further, overturning Roe. Justice Samuel Alito writing for the majority saying the constitution does not confer a right to abortion under protecting for liberty or privacy.
Justice Stephen Breyer writing for the dissent, saying this is based nothing more than the fact that three new justices appointed by Donald Trump cast decisive votes to overturn Roe. And this decision opens potential challenges now to other settled rights in this country, including contraception and same-sex marriage.
And tonight, the map here. Those 26 states that now plan to take action to restrict or ban abortion, including those 13 states with immediate trigger laws.
And all of this place out tonight despite the polling in this country that shows a majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal. A recent ABC News poll showing 70 percent of Americans believe this is a decision that should be between a woman and her doctor.
Tonight, reaction swift. President Biden calling this a sad day for the court and the country. Calling the decision, a tragic error. Former President Trump calling it the biggest win for life in a generation, taking credit for overturning Roe. Speaker Pelosi saying this is a slap in the face for women. “Women today have less freedom than their mother's did,” she said.
Tonight, we'll hear from all sides.
(…)
[Cuts to video]
TERRY MORAN: At the Supreme Court today, an historic upheaval. In a sweeping ruling that overturned a half a century of precedents, five justices ended the right of American women to choose abortion under the Constitution.
The court upheld Mississippi's ban on abortions after 15 weeks by a 6- 3 vote, and five of those justices went even farther -- voting to overturn roe versus wade itself.
Today's opinion is nearly identical to the draft that leaked from the court last month. Justice Samuel Alito rejecting the 1973 landmark ruling in Roe, scorning the idea that the Constitution protects a right to choose abortion. "Roe was on a collision course with the constitution from the day it was decided,” Alito wrote. “It is time to heed the constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives."
Chief justice John Roberts joined the conservative majority in upholding the Mississippi law, but he insisted the court did not need to overturn Roe. Instead, he searched for some middle ground, pleading, "None of this, however, requires that we also take the dramatic step of altogether eliminating the abortion right first recognized in Roe."
And from the liberal wing, a scathing, agonized dissent. Justice Stephen Breyer arguing that Alito's ruling is based on nothing more than the fact that three new justices appointed by Donald Trump -- Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanagh, and Amy Coney Barrett -- cast decisive votes to overturn Roe. "Neither law nor facts nor attitudes have provided any new reasons to reach a different result than Roe did. All that has changed is this court," Breyer wrote.
And in the dissent's last line, Breyer, along with Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, struck a somber note. "With sorrow for this court, but more for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection, we dissent."
The impact of today's ruling will be immediate. 13 states have trigger laws that end access to abortion now that roe is overruled. 13 more states are now expected to move quickly to ban abortion. Abortion-rights groups are bracing for this new reality in America.
(…)
