Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Evidence Proves The Heartbreaking Case Of The 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Is True
It appears President Biden was accurate when he related a story about a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped and traveled to Indiana for an abortion. We wondered Tuesday about the case, after no one had confirmed its accuracy or any public report of the crime, though the story had made the media rounds for nearly two weeks. (7/13)
Two newspapers owned by Gannett, one in Indiana and one in Ohio, have humanized the new American reality about abortion now that Roe v. Wade has been reversed. And in doing so, they have highlighted the inhumanity of some partisan punditry. (Brian Stelter, 7/14)
On July 8, President Biden described with passion and exasperation the case of an Ohio girl needing an abortion in a nation where states can now radically abridge reproductive rights. ... The right-wing media then reflexively scoffed. Yesterday, a Wall Street Journal editorial, 鈥淎n Abortion Story Too Good to Confirm,鈥 spoke of 鈥渇anciful tales鈥 and an 鈥渦nlikely story from a biased source.鈥 The same day, a crosstown tabloid owned by the same company ran an op-ed saying the story 鈥渓eaves a number of glaring questions,鈥 citing an 鈥渦tter lack of confirmation.鈥 On Fox News, host Jesse Watters lambasted a credulous press that had swallowed a purportedly hysterical left-wing lie. Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who appeared on the show, proclaimed it 鈥渕ore likely that this was a fabrication.鈥 (7/14)
Hamilton County Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou on Twitter called the case, 鈥淎 garbage lie that a simple google search confirms is debunked.鈥 State Rep. Brian Stewart tweeted the Washington Post story saying he 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 trust an abortionist to tell me whether the sky is blue.鈥 Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted, 鈥淎nother lie. Anyone surprised?鈥 None of them had the patience to verify for themselves with certainty the truth of the matter before going public on a massive, self-serving scale. Jordan deleted his tweet. (David DeWitt, 7/13)
There are few things聽viler and more sensitive than a criminal investigation聽involving a child rape聽victim.聽You don't have to be a prosecutor or detective to know that. (Amelia Robinson, 7/14)
Countless abortion stories will never be told at all. It won鈥檛 be because they鈥檙e lies. It will be because telling them is too risky, because patients and doctors and staffers and volunteers will face arrest for coming forward. The facts will live on in the shadows. The women and children鈥檚 real lives will continue. Even if their stories seem 鈥渢oo good鈥 to be true. Even if you wish they weren鈥檛. (Laura Hazard Owen, 7/13)
When I sat down to write a column about this聽10-year-old rape victim having to travel聽across state lines for an emergency abortion, I聽had just dropped my 6- and 4-year-old daughters off at summer school. (Carli Pierson, 7/14)
Should a pregnant girls, rape survivors be allowed abortions in Ohio? Columbus Conversation: What is the Future of Abortion in Ohio? (Amelia Robinson, 7/13)