Women's / Reproductive Rights

CNN and MSNBC lie on behalf of anti-abortion Republicans. John Iadarola breaks it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/fox-failed-cover-rep-steve-kings-latest-abortion-comments-other-networks-missed-context "Fox News was uncharacteristically quiet about abortion after Rep. Steve King (R-IA) made comments on Wednesday criticizing rape and incest exceptions to abortion bans. Although CNN and MSNBC covered the topic more, both networks prioritized the inaccurate narrative that King's position is an aberration from the Republican Party’s stance on abortion access. On August 14, King defended eliminating rape and incest exceptions from abortion bans, suggesting that there wouldn’t be “any population of the world left” if abortions were allowed in these instances. Media Matters analyzed coverage of King’s comments on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox from the time the story broke around 2 p.m. on August 14 through 9 a.m. the next day. We found that CNN covered the topic for 54 minutes and 28 seconds, followed by MSNBC reporting on it for 40 minutes and 28 seconds. Meanwhile, Fox News discussed King’s remarks for a meager one minute and 22 seconds. This silence from Fox News is uncharacteristic, as the network typically dominates abortion-related conversations with sensationalized misinformation. CNN’s and MSNBC’s coverage, however, repeated a right-wing media framing of the story." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksAugust 16

A constituent confronted Rep. Steven King about his extreme stance on abortion. August 15

A critical look at the hypocrisy of the pro-life movement. http://tyt.com/hasan #TYT #HasanPiker #TheBreakdownJune 17

Another unearthed video of Biden shows just how conservative he is. John Iadarola and Brett Erlich break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/448473-biden-says-he-doesnt-see-abortion-as-a-choice-and-a-right-in-unearthed-2006?__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true "A resurfaced 2006 interview by former Vice President Joe Biden may again put his views on abortion under scrutiny in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. An interview Biden gave ahead of his 2008 run — unearthed by CNN's KFile on Thursday and later reported on by The New York Times — shows the current Democratic front-runner signaling support for Roe v. Wade but not full-blown support for abortion as a "choice and a right." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksJune 14

Kamala Harris says she's done with the spread of anti-abortion laws. John Iadarola and Jayar Jackson break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/28/18643591/kamala-harris-2020-msnbc-town-hall "Again and again during her MSNBC town hall Tuesday night, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) reminded voters and was reminded herself that the United States Senate is a sizable obstacle to any Democratic agenda. “2020 is about the White House, but it’s also about the United States Senate,” Harris told the audience in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Harris made the case for her 2020 presidential candidacy. She defended her plan to stop states from restricting abortion rights, called the family separation crisis “a human rights abuse being committed by the United States government,” and promised to prosecute the case against Donald Trump and his associates if elected. But the specter of the US Senate — and the difficulty Democrats will have securing a bare majority, much less a 60-vote filibuster-proof supermajority that can pass everything without Republican buy-in — hung over much of the conversation. It would be a barrier to Harris’s plan to require states to get preclearance from the Justice Department before they could institute new abortion restrictions. It makes impeachment exceedingly unlikely unless there is a dramatic shift in Republican leadership’s political calculus." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksMay 29

Study finds Facebook News Feed DOMINATED with right-wing sources on abortion. [http://tyt.com/hasan](http://tyt.com/hasan)May 28

The AP is downplaying how disastrous the recently passed anti-abortion laws are. John Iadarola and Brooke Thomas break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2019/05/28/ap-promoted-anti-choice-misinformation-about-abortion-access-and-roe-v-wade-here-are-facts/223802 "On May 27, The Associated Press’ David Crary and Clara Johnson wrote an article that uncritically repeated talking points from anti-abortion advocates to claim that if the Supreme Court decides to overturn Roe v. Wade, the impact will not be as drastic as pro-choice activists allege it would be. In reality, overturning Roe could have detrimental impacts on low-income communities’ ability to access care and could spur a reinvigorated anti-choice movement pushing to restrict access to contraceptives and abortion in states where these reproductive rights are currently protected. Crary and Johnson began the piece by stating that recently adopted state restrictions on abortion access have “set off speculation” about what would happen if the Supreme Court overturned Roe, thereby reverting abortion policy to individual states. The article explained some of the “abortion-related changes that have unfolded since 1973,” the year Roe was decided, and quoted a few abortion rights advocates. But Crary and Johnson also talked to two anti-abortion advocates, and the journalists failed to fact-check the anti-abortion misinformation they offered. Dr. Donna Harrison, the executive director of the anti-abortion group American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told the AP that advancements in ultrasound technology mean pregnant people who view ultrasound images -- as some states mandate they do -- change their minds about having an abortion. However, research shows that viewing an ultrasound “does not alter decisions of the large majority of women who are certain that abortion is the right decision.” #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksMay 28

The right-wing media is positively giddy about the death of Roe v. Wade. John Iadarola and Media Matters reporter Sharon Kann break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2019/05/17/right-wing-media-and-abortion-opponents-celebrate-and-defend-alabama-law-banning-abortion/223726 "On May 15, Alabama’s Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law banning nearly all abortions in the state with no exceptions for rape and incest. While the law will likely be challenged before it takes effect, right-wing media and abortion opponents defended the lack of exceptions and celebrated it as a sign of Roe v. Wade’s end. The Alabama law prohibits abortion with only limited exceptions for “serious health risk” to the life of the pregnant person or because of a “lethal” fetal anomaly. As CNN noted, before the law’s signing, Democrats in the state legislature had “re-introduced an amendment to exempt rape and incest victims, but the motion failed on an 11-21 vote.” In addition to allowing for few exceptions, the law would also it a felony “punishable by up to 99 years in prison for doctors” to perform an abortion. Given patients’ concerns about the immediate accessibility of abortion care, it is important to note that abortion is still legal in Alabama. As Vox’s Anna North noted, the law has been signed by the governor but “does not take effect for six months,” and there are already plans underway to challenge it in court. As Republicans and right-wing media have repeatedly fearmongered about Democrats advocating for expanded abortion access and the codification of Roe’s protections at the state level, anti-choice politicians have pushed increasingly extreme anti-abortion bills -- likely as an attempt to capitalize on the opportunity for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe with conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch both now confirmed." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksMay 21

Elizabeth Warren released a clear and aggressive abortion plan. Ana Kasparian and Brett Erlich break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksMay 17

Hasan Piker shows what would lower unwanted pregnancies, and how Republicans have opposed these measures as well. [http://tyt.com/hasan](http://tyt.com/hasan)May 16

Doctors in Alabama could face 99 years in prison if they perform an abortion. Brooke Thomas, Jayar Jackson, and Sue-Ann Robinson break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alabama-abortion-law-passed-alabama-passes-near-total-abortion-ban-with-no-exceptions-for-rape-or-incest-2019-05-14/ "The Alabama State Senate passed a near-total abortion ban in a 25 to 6 vote on Tuesday night. The legislation provides no exceptions for rape or incest. The bill is the most restrictive anti-abortion measure passed since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. The bill now heads to Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican. If she signs it, the bill will become law. Up until Tuesday she has withheld public comment on the legislation. The legislation -- House Bill 314, "Human Life Protection Act" -- bans all abortions in the state except when "abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk" to the woman, according to the bill's text. It criminalizes the procedure, reclassifying abortion as a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison for doctors. Attempted abortions will be reclassified as a Class C penalty." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksMay 15

Alyssa Milano's proposed sex strike caused right-wingers to commit a massive self-owning. John Iadarola and Brooke Thomas break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/12/opinions/alyssa-milano-sex-strike-abortion-drexler/index.html "(CNN) Actress Alyssa Milano has become one of the #MeToo movement's most powerful celebrity mouthpieces, inspiring thousands of women to come forward with their stories of rape or assault. Last week, though, in calling for a "sex strike" to protest anti-abortion laws, she may have missed the mark — by a long shot. "Our reproductive rights are being erased," she tweeted Friday. "Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy. JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back." Milano posted the missive a few days after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the "heartbeat bill," one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation. The legislation makes it illegal to have an abortion after a heartbeat has been detected in the womb — or about six weeks, which is before many women realize they are pregnant." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TheYoungTurksMay 13

Georgia has passed the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. John Iadarola and Nayyera Haq break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/hb-481-georgia-law-criminalizes-abortion-subjects-women-to-life-in-prison.html "On Tuesday, Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed a “fetal heartbeat” bill that seeks to outlaw abortion after about six weeks. The measure, HB 481, is the most extreme abortion ban in the country—not just because it would impose severe limitations on women’s reproductive rights, but also because it would subject women who get illegal abortions to life imprisonment and the death penalty. The primary purpose of HB 481 is to prohibit doctors from terminating any pregnancy after they can detect “embryonic or fetal cardiac activity,” which typically occurs at six weeks’ gestation. But the bill does far more than that. In one sweeping provision, it declares that “unborn children are a class of living, distinct person” that deserves “full legal recognition.” Thus, Georgia law must “recognize unborn children as natural persons”—not just for the purposes of abortion, but as a legal rule. This radical revision of Georgia law is quite deliberate: The bill confirms that fetuses “shall be included in population based determinations” from now on, because they are legally humans, and residents of the state. But it is not clear whether the bill’s drafters contemplated the more dramatic consequences of granting legal personhood to fetuses. For instance, as Georgia appellate attorney Andrew Fleischman has pointed out, the moment this bill takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020, the state will be illegally holding thousands of citizens in jail without bond. That’s because, under HB 481, pregnant inmates’ fetuses have independent rights—including the right to due process. Can a juvenile attorney represent an inmate’s fetus and demand its release? If not, why? It is an egregious due process violation to punish one human for the crimes of another. If an inmate’s fetus is a human, how can Georgia lawfully detain it for a crime it did not commit?" #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TYTNetworkMay 10

Trump spread a disgusting lie about doctors during a Wisconsin rally. John Iadarola and Brooke Thomas break it down on The Damage Report. Follow The Damage Report on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDamageReportTYT/ Help build the Home of the Progressives http://tyt.com/JOIN Subscribe to The Damage Report YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thedamagereport?sub_confirmation=1 Follow The Damage Report on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDamageReport Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/28/politics/trump-rally-wisconsin-abortion/index.html "Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump made an incendiary remark at a rally Saturday night, veering from criticism of Wisconsin's Democratic governor to a false claim that mothers and doctors have the option to "execute" babies. Speaking at a rally he hosted in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday, Trump pointed to former Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who was in attendance, and said Walker's successor, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers "shockingly stated that he will veto legislation that protects Wisconsin babies born alive." According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Evers planned to veto a GOP-backed state bill that could have meant life sentences in prison for doctors who intentionally did not provide medical care to babies born alive after a failed abortion." #TheDamageReport #JohnIadarola #TYTNetworkApril 29

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Women's / Reproductive Rights