MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. — For Melanie Barker, it wasn’t just the details of the Virginia abortion bill that unnerved her, it was also how it was covered by the national press that poured ice in her veins.

“I am surprised, because I feel like it’s so detached, and there is no heart in it. And when you look at the general population’s sentiments on third trimester abortions, the press’s depiction of the procedure came across as though people who were distressed by it were the ones who were odd,” the 43-year-old Michigan nursery school teacher said.