In one of the few appearances of a conservative on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, National Review editor Rich Lowry confronted and dispelled the disinformation host Chuck Todd and his liberal panelists were spewing against pro-life laws in South Carolina and around the country. He also advised Republicans on how to run on it during the midterms.
Boston Globe senior opinion writer Kimberly Atkins Stohr received high marks from Todd for bringing up a case of a young woman in South Carolina. “Well, it’s funny you bring up the South Carolina incident … this person you’re talking about – her water broke at week 15, and basically it was against South Carolina law for them to do anything about it,” Todd proclaimed without evidence.
A couple of minutes later, Lowry took down Todd’s falsehoods with the facts about the South Carolina law:
And every one of these laws have a broad health exception; not just life of the mother but also physical impairment, including losing a uterus is obviously a physical impairment. And this woman in South Carolina did get her miscarriage care.
“I think it’s also important to point out though with miscarriages which are much more common than we talk about in this country. These are things we have long known. Right? That miscarriages can easily result in sepsis, that there is a risk to having a child in America, in particular for black women, who are three times more likely to die because of pregnancy-related issues –” PBS NewsHour’s Amna Nawaz said in an attempt to claim pro-life laws bar medical care for miscarriages.
Just another reason to #DefundPBS.
But Lowry interjected with a brutal fact check. “But pro-lifers do not oppose miscarriage treatment. Catholic hospitals that refuse on high moral principle to perform abortions will care for miscarriages. This is a misunderstanding,” he declared.
Lowry also implored Republicans to brush up on the content of the laws and push back against the lies “aggressively” to inform the public and stop these misnomers from taking root:
I was just going to say on these terrible cases with miscarriages. This is another aspect where Republicans, they really need to know the case, they really need to know what these laws say.
(…)
But Republicans need to be out there aggressively saying that, making the case. And attorney generals need to be making it clear to the attorneys at hospitals and medical facilities what the law actually says because there’s a lot of bad advice being given.
At the beginning of the segment, Todd made it clear why he wanted to talk about abortion because he felt the issue could help save Democrats from a red wave in November. Todd even recalled a time when Lowry felt the same. But that feeling was tempered now.
The conservative editor said Republicans “can’t run and hide on this issue.” But rather, they should take up defensible positions and “point at the other side for being extremist for supporting abortion in every circumstance with federal funding.”
Chuck Todd’s lies were made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Amazon and Google. Their contact information is lined.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC’s Meet the Press
August 28, 2022
10:34:31 a.m. Eastern(…)
CHUCK TODD: Rich, I keep coming back to a moment where you and I were on the air. I think it was after the leak of the pre-Dobbs decision where you were like, “Look, the midterms are going on a trajectory in favor of the Republicans, but abortion could change everything. Are we at the change everything moment?
RICH LOWRY: I don’t know if it changes everything but clearly it’s an important change. And I think Republicans have to realize they can’t run and hide from this issue. You try to do that, it’s not going to work; you’re going to get defined in a way you’re not going to like. And you can’t – most places adopt a maximalist position.
So, I think they need to do a version of what Rubio did, say, “I want to protect every unborn child eventually. I realize I have a lot of work to do – public persuasion on that. In the meantime, here’s a limit I support that is actually defensible and has public support” and then point at the other side for being extremist for supporting abortion in every circumstance with federal funding.
(…)
10:36:30 a.m. Eastern
TODD: Well, it’s funny you bring up the South Carolina incident. I want to actually play the lawmaker. He talked about this – this person you’re talking about – her water broke at week 15 and basically it was against South Carolina law for them to do anything about it.
(…)
10:39:08 a.m. Eastern
LOWRY: I was just going to say on these terrible cases with miscarriages. This is another aspect where Republicans, they really need to know the case, they really need to know what these laws say. And every one of these laws have a broad health exception; not just life of the mother but also physical impairment, including losing a uterus is obviously a physical impairment. And this woman in South Carolina did get her miscarriage care.
But Republicans need to be out there aggressively saying that, making the case. And attorney generals need to be making it clear to the attorneys at hospitals and medical facilities what the law actually says, because there’s a lot of bad advice being given.
AMNA NAWAZ: I think it’s also important to point out though with miscarriages which are – [coughs] excuse me – much more common than we talk about in this country. These are things we have long known. Right? That miscarriages can easily result in sepsis, that there is a risk to having a child in America, in particular for black women, who are three times more likely to die because of pregnancy-related issues –
[Crosstalk]
LOWRY: But pro-lifers do not oppose miscarriage treatment. Catholic hospitals that refuse on high moral principle to perform abortions will care for miscarriages. This is a misunderstanding.
(…)
