Our president lies and simply says false things. A lot. Trump’s relationship with the truth is tenuous at best, and at times, his lies don’t even serve a real purpose.
But Trump didn’t lie about the Democratic Party’s recent embrace of third-trimester abortion laws. At a Wisconsin rally over the weekend, Trump said:
Graphic? Sure. Inaccurate? Not really!
Trump here is specifically referring to the Wisconsin governor’s plan to veto a Republican law which would make it illegal for doctors not to give medical care to babies born alive after a botched abortion. More than 50 abortions in Wisconsin last year were performed on pregnancies past the 20 week mark, widely accepted as the point of viability.
Democrats often argue that “born alive” protections are unnecessary because the scenario rarely ever occurs. Given existing abortion restrictions, this is mostly true. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 2003 and 2014, about 140 infant deaths resulted from abortions. But if it’s so rare, why not just pass born alive laws? And if third-trimester laws such as those endorsed by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam actually do pass in multiple states, the number of attempted abortions resulting in a live birth will in fact increase.
And how did Northam defend his law?
Trump may have used much stronger language than Northam, but really, all he did was explicate the eventual endpoint of the “discussion” that “would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” Physicians have a legal and ethical duty to provide life-saving care in case of emergencies. What Northam described here was an abdication of that duty to a living, breathing human being.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped the media from accusing Trump of lying.
“Trump’s Lies about abortion keep getting more disturbing,” writes Hannah Gold at The Cut.
The New York Times called Trump’s claim “false” but conceded that “the family may choose to provide just comfort care — wrapping and cuddling the baby — and allow the child to die naturally without extreme attempts at resuscitation.” Again, given a physician’s inherent duty to save lives in emergencies, the deprivation of care is tantamount to murder.
Vice News called “Trump’s lies … outrageous and dangerous.”
Again, where is the lie?
It’s fine and fair to point out how that current abortion law results in the termination of relatively few viable babies. But that’s no excuse to not provide protection for those born alive, and certainly not one to baselessly accuse the president of lying when, for once, he’s telling the cold, hard truth.
