In a June 12 column, the Washington Post‘s Dana Milbank botches a key fact about federal legislation that would ban abortion during the final four months of pregnancy, when infants can feel pain and survive long-term if they’re born prematurely:
Contrary to Milbank’s claim, the bill does not ban “all” abortions after five months of pregnancy. The law includes an exception for when a physical health issue endangers the life of the mother. Here’s the text of the bill:
“(i) in reasonable medical judgment, the abortion is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, but not including psychological or emotional conditions;
The bill also includes exceptions for cases of rape and incest. For all of these exceptions, the doctor is required to end the pregnancy “in the manner which, in reasonable medical judgment, provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive.” (Update: I should note that this requirement doesn’t apply in cases when this requirement increases risk to the mother’s life or physical health.) A recent study found that nearly one-quarter of premature infants born 20 weeks after conception were able to survive longterm.
After making this major error, Milbank goes on to argue that opponents of abortion should ignore the fact that thousands of premature infants are legally dismembered or poisoned to death in utero every year. Instead, writes Milbank, pro-lifers should “take up the cause of birth control.” As Mollie Hemingway reports at The Federalist, Milbank misrepresents the statements of a pro-life source he interviewed and pretends only Democrats support making birth control available over the counter.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Washington Post had not issued any corrections to Milbank’s column.
Update: On Wednesday afternoon, the Washington Post appended the following correction to Milbank’s column:
Milbank and the Washington Post still have not responded to the credible allegation from Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life that Milbank misrepresented what she said.
