ArcaMax

On Aug. 10, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill allowing abortion at any point in pregnancy. Abortion advocates call it "closing the gaps" in "abortion rights protections." Abortion foes call it "abortion until birth," making it legal to dismember fully formed babies, limb from limb.

The "mainstream" media called it nothing. You couldn't find that story on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS or NPR. What about print? The New York Times noted this bill when it passed the state House in July, and The Washington Post ran an AP dispatch when it passed the state Senate. But I found nothing on the bill-signing.

The AP headline was painfully vague: "Massachusetts is close to giving doctors the final word on whether to perform late abortions." AP reporter Geoff Mulvihill didn't emphasize this was an "abortion until birth" bill.

This was AP's muddled lede: "Massachusetts is on the way to giving doctors the final say on whether an abortion should be allowed late in pregnancy, a move expected to affect few cases but that supporters say is needed because hospitals are now turning away women they should be serving."

Abortions are allowed, "based on the professional judgment of the physician." In the sixth paragraph, AP acknowledged: "Opponents say that it would allow abortion until birth." But they're not just "saying" it. That's factual.

Why would this triumphant bill signing vanish without national media attention, if it's such a wonderful thing for women's rights? It's not like they can't cover something from Massachusetts. These networks are all over the trial of Lindsey Clancy, accused of strangling her own children. On Aug. 19, ABC, CBS and NBC all found the story of Karen Solomon, who is wanted for questioning in the death of her police officer husband in Worcester.

One reason this did not become a national story is that it represents the Democrat Party's extreme position on abortion. Liberal journalists easily find and lament the "extreme" pro-life position, but never the other extreme. When the liberals stand strongly behind an extreme, they pretend it's not extreme.

For years, the "independent fact-checkers" have thrown flags when Republicans say the Democrats favor abortion up until birth. They bizarrely claim it's false because late-term abortions are "rare." The Kaiser Family Foundation says less than 1% of abortions are "late term," and then they quibble that "late term" is questionable verbiage. But if there are a million-plus abortions in America, the math would say 10,000 late abortions a year -- a small percentage, but not exactly "rare."

A fair-minded "fact-checker" would acknowledge that officially, Republicans are in general opposed to all or most abortions, while the Democrats are in general in favor of the right to abortion for almost any reason at any time. But an establishment Democrat who favors abortion on demand can be currently painted as a "moderate" in the media's partisan lingo.

The elitist media couldn't find any controversy for Healey, who has claimed to be a Catholic and yet signed something the Church staunchly opposes. Some Catholics want her excommunicated. A few days before Healey signed this extreme bill, she was warmly embraced with national attention on MS NOW's "Morning Joe" for signing a bill to "protect people from ICE." Those people would be illegal immigrants who are "terrorized" -- by the prospect of deportation.

The national media's moral compass: Deportation is a terrible injustice, even if you are a criminal. Abortion is a precious right, whenever you pay for one. Abortion is somehow victimless. This is why half the country doesn't trust "news" from pro-abortion media elites.

Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Tim Graham and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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