[ad_1]
Oour president lies and simply says false things. A lot. Trump's relationship with the truth is tenuous at best, and sometimes his lies do not even serve a real purpose.
But Trump has not lied about the Democratic Party's recent adoption of the third quarter's abortion laws. At a rally in Wisconsin this weekend, Trump said:
Your Democratic governor in Wisconsin has shockingly stated that he will veto a law protecting live-born babies in Wisconsin. Born alive. The baby is born. The mother meets the doctor. They take care of the baby. They wrap the baby beautifully. And then, the doctor and the mother determine whether they will perform the baby or not.
Graphic? Sure. Inaccurate? Not really!
Trump specifically refers to the Wisconsin governor's plan to veto a Republican law that would bar doctors from caring for babies born alive after a failed abortion. Last year, more than 50 abortions in Wisconsin were performed on pregnancies older than 20 weeks, widely accepted as the point of viability.
Democrats often say that "born alive" protections are not necessary because this scenario is rare. Given the existing restrictions on abortion, it is mainly true. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that between 2003 and 2014, about 140 newborn deaths were due to abortion. But if it's so rare, why not just switch to the laws of the living? And if third-quarter laws, such as those approved by the Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, are actually enacted in several states, the number of abortion attempts resulting in a live birth will actually increase.
And how did Northam defend his law?
If a mother is giving birth, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The baby would be delivered. The baby would stay comfortable. The child would be resuscitated if that was what the mother and family wanted, and a discussion ensued between the doctors and the mother.
Trump may have used a much stronger language than Northam, but in reality he only explained the end result of the "discussion" that "would ensue between the doctors and the mother". Physicians have the legal and ethical obligation to provide lifesaving care in times of emergency. What Northam has described here is an abdication of this duty to a living and breathing human being.
Of course, this did not stop the media from accusing Trump of lying.
"Trump's lies about abortion are getting more and more worrisome," writes Hannah Gold in The Cut.
The New York Times calls Trump's statement "false", but concedes that "the family can choose to provide comfort care – enveloping and cuddling the baby – and allowing the child to die naturally without any extreme attempt to resuscitation". Again, given the physician's inherent duty to save lives in an emergency, deprivation of care is tantamount to murder.
Vice News called "Trump's lies … outrageous and dangerous."
Once again, where is the lie?
It is good and right to point out how the current abortion law is causing the disappearance of relatively few viable babies. But this is not an excuse for not protecting those born alive, and certainly not for blaming the president for lying when, for once, he is telling the harsh truth.
[ad_2]
Source link