ABC News rebuked by pro-life group, asked for correction of abortion claim by debate moderator
ABC’s Linsey Davies told Trump that ‘there are no states in this country where killing a newborn baby is legal’.
ABC News’ hosting of the Tuesday presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harri is not pleasing to a prominent pro-life organization.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America sent a letter on Wednesday to ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic, debate moderators David Muir, and Linsey Davis urging them to issue an apology and meet with survivors of abortion over a viral moment in which Davis fact-checked Trump.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony for Pro-Life America wrote: “[The] ABC News Presidential Debate saw network moderator Linsey Davies attempt to debunk the former President Trump’s claim that some states permit the killing an infant after conception.”
Trump made infamous remarks during the debate about former Virginia Democratic Governor. Davis “fact-checked’ Ralph Northam, who made the remarks in 2019. Northam said that in rare cases of third-trimester abortions, a live baby may be born and “a discussion would follow between the doctors and the mother.”
Northam stated in 2019 that “the infant would be revived if the mother and family wanted it, and then there would be a discussion between the doctors and the mother.”
Davis was quick to reprimand Trump for his apparent mention of Northam during the debate.
Davis stated that “there is no state where it is legal for a mother to kill her baby after birth.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America says the ABC moderator is “inaccurate”. She should correct the record.
This is completely inaccurate. “Her statement ignores the reality that babies survive failed late-term abortions, but are denied basic medical treatment and left to suffer,” Dannenfelser wrote.
We are writing ABC News and Ms. Davis to ask for a quick correction. As the following facts demonstrate, it is indisputable that babies are born after failed abortions in this country. A correction by the network and debate moderators would be a good first step to acknowledge this truth. We encourage ABC to also meet with abortion survivors, who are living testimony to the importance of born-alive rights.
The pro-life advocate added several claims in support of the correction request, including “numerous cases of babies being born alive after failed abortions” and an estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that “between 2003 and 2014., approximately 143 babies were born alive and died following failed abortions.”
The article also cited a center-right publication, The Dispatch, which reported that Minnesota recorded eight infant deaths who survived abortions during Tim Walz’s time as governor.
It’s also true that Kamala Harris, while a U.S. Senator, voted against protecting babies born alive following failed abortions. Tim Walz, who was her running mate in Congress at the time, even apologized publicly for voting ‘accidentally” for this legislation after having previously voted against.
The Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life President requested an in-person ABC meeting to speak directly with survivors of abortion.
After the debate, numerous fact-checks were published that criticized Trump’s remarks about abortion.
CBS News reported that “Infanticide” is illegal in all 50 states, and Harris Walz has never supported this practice. NPR cited an earlier report by the Kaiser Family Foundation that said abortions “after conception” were illegal in all fifty states.
Harris avoided a Davis question about whether she supports any restrictions on the right of a woman to have an abortion.