Fox's Martha MacCallum and her guests, faux-Democrat Kirsten Powers and Swanson food heir Tucker Carlson did their best to downplay the damage the new restrictions on abortion that Texas Republicans are trying to jam through the legislature are going to do to the women of that state.
Fox's MacCallum Attacks Access to Abortion in Texas:
Fox News host Martha MacCallum attacked access to clinics offering abortions in Texas, taking issue with the fact that the clinics offer abortions at all, and not that a recently defeated state bill would have imposed so many new restrictions as to render most clinics legally inoperable.
During the July 1 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, co-host MacCallum called into question Texas State Senator Wendy Davis' filibuster that defeated Texas' Senate Bill 5 (SB5) which, if passed, would have been one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws. Critics of the bill said it would have shuttered all but five of the 47 clinics that provide abortions in Texas. MacCallum attempted to discredit this claim, saying, "That makes you just wonder how many of these clinics are surviving on the fact that they are performing abortions, if so many of them would have to close if indeed it were able to pass":
MacCallum scoffed at the restrictions that SB 5 would have enacted, but medical experts in Texas oppose the bill. The Texas district of American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a statement against the bill, saying it "sets a dangerous precedent by legislating the practice of medicine and places women at risk by denying access to safe, legal reproductive health services."
ACOG added that the bill's requirement that clinics offering abortions must maintain the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers would create "additional standards that single out abortion services from other outpatient procedures."
Here's more from our friends at Newshounds: Martha MacCallum Attacks Wendy Davis, "Ghoulish" Abortion Rights:
As Fox News is America's "pro-life" news network, it is only fitting that alleged Fox "news" host Martha MacCallum is very upfront about her "pro-life" views which encompass the lie that Plan B induces abortion. In validating and supporting the anti-abortion movement, she is always willing to validate their talking points. Such was the case, this morning, when she and her pro-life panel attacked Texas State Senator, Wendy Davis, for her advocacy in defending a Texas women's right to a safe and legal abortion, something which will be greatly curtailed if the Texas "pro-life" bill passes - a reality that Martha & co. dismissed. But what was worse was how MacCallum just couldn't understand why abortion access is so important. Of course, if abortion is criminalized, wealthy white women like Martha, will have no problem obtaining a "procedure" from a reputable doctor while at the same time poor women, many of them minorities, will die in back alley abortions. This could happen, in Texas, if the bill passes. And Fox News thinks that there's no war on women? As the awesome Melissa Harris-Perry would say, "Wow, Seriously?!
After playing video of Wendy Davis on Meet the Press, MacCallum immediately attacked. She said that while while Davis says that Rick Perry is pushing the bill for political gain, doing it for political gain, the same thing could be said about Davis. Tucker Carlson commented that's what politicians do and added "the truth is you're watching the democratic party's one non-negotiable here which is abortion." Tucker didn't mention that abortion is also a non-negotiable and a litmus test for the GOP.
MacCallum said that polls indicate that Texas favor the ban while the graphic showed that 47% strongly support and 15% somewhat support. Meanwhile, another poll shows that 63% of Texas do not support the bill. MacCallum noted that 20 to 25 states have a ban like this; but didn't mention that in Idaho and Arizona, the 20 week ban was found to be unconstitutional and that the other bans relate to "viability" which can be up to 24 weeks. [...]
As in the Gosnell discussions on Fox, there was no consideration of the fact that late term abortion is sometimes necessary for the health of the mother. When legislation doesn't take this under consideration, you bet there will be opposition. As Wendy Davis said, late term abortions are rare and usually done in sad circumstances when the fetus or the woman is seriously medically compromised. Fox "news" continually sends the message, as did Powers, that late term abortion is as casual as having a pedicure.
As in Megyn Kelly's pro-life coverage of the Texas bill, there was no discussion about how abortion doctors won't be able to secure "hospital privileges" and this will also prevent women, especially poor, rural women's, from having access to a safe, legal abortion. As in Megyn Kelly's pro-life coverage, nobody mentioned that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists oppose the bill. And that's because alleged Fox News hosts, Megyn Kelly and Martha MacCallum brought in two people to validate the GOP, anti-choice propaganda.
