'There Is No Such Thing as People Having Late-term Abortions'
Abortion rights supporters expose anti-abortion "scam"
When he unveiled his proposal Tuesday, Sen Lindsey Graham leaned heavily into the notion and rhetoric that his legislation would allow some abortions to continue while prohibiting what he called “late-term” abortions.
In fact, while Graham's legislation would ban all abortion following 15 weeks of pregnancy except for cases of rape, incest, or life of the mother, the South Carolina dressed it up as some sort of reasonable compromise to allow some abortions to continue, but ban so-called “late-term abortions.”
Except that that isn't really true, according to many abortion rights advocates who present the science of the case.
“He calls it a ‘late-term abortion act,’” co-host Sara Haines explained Wednesday on the ABC-TV chat program, The View, referring to Graham and his anti-abortion measure. “By the way, 15 weeks, for anyone that doesn’t know, is one week into your second trimester and just to clear up an often-referenced myth that is used to get a certain political outcome, there is no such thing as people having late-term abortions.”
Just 1.3 percent of abortions are performed at greater than 21 weeks and usually for “heartbreaking medical reasons,” Haines explained.
“That is only done for heartbreaking medical reasons. I have yet to see one situation where someone decides that. That is a myth being shopped around to get a certain political outcome,” she said. “And 91 percent of all abortions are performed in the first trimester.
“So, until we are all clear on the information and data, we should not be toying with this because it’s being falsely shopped around,” Haines added.
The anti-abortion movement created the phrase “late-term abortions” not out of any scientific basis, but merely to generate emotions and sympathy for their cause.
Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, warned other journalists not to get caught in Graham's rhetorical trap.
“Please stop calling Lindsey Graham's National Abortion Ban a ‘late term' abortion ban just because that's what he calls it. He's lying about what it is. YOU DON'T HAVE TO REPEAT LIARS JUST BECAUSE THEY WANT YOU TO, media people,” he tweeted.
Lindy Li, a prominent Democratic commentator and activist further called out Graham for his linguistic falsehood.
“Lindsey Graham is lying to the whole nation He’s introducing a national abortion ban calling 15 weeks a late term abortion Pregnancy is 40 weeks. 15 is NOT late ‘Late-term’ abortion is just as FAKE as ‘pro-life’ ‘Late-term’ is a scam designed to smear women Don’t fall for it,” she tweeted.
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