An Alabama mother was indicted by a grand jury on manslaughter charges Wednesday after allegedly starting a fight that led to her getting shot and having a miscarriage. “In Alabama, a ‘person’ includes unborn children in any stage of development,” reported The Washington Post. But on Thursday’s CBS Evening News, the network parroted “abortion rights activists” who called it “a new attack on women.”
As he introduced the story, fill-in anchor Maurice Dubois seemed annoyed that “a woman from Alabama suffered a miscarriage after being shot, and now she's being charged with manslaughter for the death of her unborn child.” “The case has outraged abortion rights advocates nationwide,” he added.
Correspondent Mireya Villarreal admitted that the grand jury found that the mother, Marshae Jones, “‘intentionally caused the death of’ her unborn baby by ‘initiating a fight, knowing she was five months pregnant.” Concluding, it was “caused in a sudden heat of passion.’”
But she then touted the support Jones had received from abortion rights activists. “This case has quickly become a lightning rod for pro-abortion-rights advocates. One abortion advocacy group said they would help raise Jones' $50,000 bail, posting, ‘Lose a pregnancy is not a crime,’” she reported.
“Alabama recently passed one of the most-restrictive abortion laws in the country. Some say Jones' case as a new attack on women,” Villarreal decried. “Pro-abortion rights activists are calling this a slippery slope and they question: if a pregnant woman is seen having a drink or not properly practicing prenatal care, could she or would she be arrested?”
So, was Villarreal fine with a pregnant woman possibly subjecting her unborn child to fetal alcohol syndrome?
And as if they were sharing an unbiased account of the fight, CBS relied on Jones’ family for the defense. “They tell us she did not start the fight in this Alabama parking lot and they say losing her child has been punishment enough,” Villarreal said.
Meanwhile, The Post cited the finding of the local police department:
“The investigation showed that the only true victim in this was the unborn baby,” Pleasant Grove Police Lt. Danny Reid said in December, in the days following the shooting. “It was the mother of the child who initiated and continued the fight which resulted in the death of her own unborn baby.”
Citing a local Alabama paper, The Post noted that the fight started over the baby’s father. The other woman “was charged with manslaughter, but a grand jury failed to indict her, and the charge was dismissed, according to AL.com. At the time, police alleged that Jones started the argument and that Jemison shot Jones in self-defense.”
There was a serious case at hand but CBS was more interested in pushing the narrative of “abortion rights advocates.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Evening News
June 27, 2019
6:46:42 p.m. EasternMAURICE DUBOIS: A woman from Alabama suffered a miscarriage after being shot, and now she's being charged with manslaughter for the death of her unborn child. The case has outraged abortion rights advocates nationwide. Mireya Villarreal is in Alabama
[Cuts to video]
MIREYA VILLARREAL: Marshae Jones' arrest came some six months after the 28-year-old, who was five months pregnant at the time, was shot in the stomach.
According to the grand jury indictment, Jones “intentionally caused the death of” her unborn baby by “initiating a fight, knowing she was five months pregnant.” Concluding, it was “caused in a sudden heat of passion.”
The fight happened last December at this Birmingham, Alabama, suburb shopping center. The grand jury found the shooter, 23-year-old Ebony Jemison, acted in self-defense when she pulled out a gun. The manslaughter charges against Jemison have been dropped.
This case has quickly become a lightning rod for pro-abortion-rights advocates. One abortion advocacy group said they would help raise Jones' $50,000 bail, posting, "Lose a pregnancy is not a crime."
Alabama recently passed one of the most-restrictive abortion laws in the country. Some say Jones' case as a new attack on women.
[Cuts back to live]
Pro-abortion rights activists are calling this a slippery slope and they question: if a pregnant woman is seen having a drink or not properly practicing prenatal care, could she or would she be arrested?
Maurice, we spoke to the family of Marshae Jones. They tell us she did not start the fight in this Alabama parking lot and they say losing her child has been punishment enough.
DUBOIS: Mireya Villarreal, thank you very much tonight.
