On Sunday's State of the Union show. CNN host Jake Tapper fretted over a Mississippi law that tries to abolish abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, bringing up the issue of the bill not allowing rape as an exception to the 15-week rule.
After Tapper raised the law by asking Governor Tate Reeves (R-MS) if he hoped that that it would result in the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, and then followed up: "And what do you say to a Mississippian who says, "Why are you telling a girl who has been raped by her uncle that she has to carry the child to term?"
Lest anyone believe this was just a matter of Tapper asking a contrarian question to a conservative guest, two years ago when Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) appeared as a guest to discuss then-recent legislation on abortion, Tapper barely challenged her, and allowed her to rant against white men wanting to push such laws.
On CNN's The Lead on May 15, 2019, after a report on a new law restricting abortion in Alabama, Tapper brought aboard Speier for reaction, leading her to overstate public support for abortion:
It is a stunning example of 25 white men who have never and will never be pregnant trying to tell women how they are going to live their lives. And it is a right to privacy that a woman has in conjunction with her physician as to whether or not she is going to continue with the pregnancy or not. Seven out of 10 American women believe, regardless of their party affiliation, that abortion should be legal, safe, and subject to a determination made by a woman and her physician.
Earlier in the segment, CNN reporter Diane Gallagher had similarly overstated how popular abortion is with the public: "According to the Pew Research Center. 56 percent of Americans say abortion should[ be legal in all or most cases. For Republicans, those numbers are flipped with 59 percent saying abortion should be illegal in all or most cases."
CNN has a history of citing polls that fit their agenda of claiming abortion is popular with most Americans while ignoring polls that report the opposite.
In one of his follow-up questions, Tapper only vaguely alluded to bills pushed by Democrats in Virginia and New York to make it easier to get a late-term abortion:
So, obviously, you oppose these heartbeat bills, so-called heartbeat bills in states such as Georgia, Alabama, Ohio. What do you make of the more liberal legislation on abortion that has been passed in New York and Virginia that's been more controversial on the other side of the issue?
Sunday's State of the Union on CNN was sponsored in part by Workhuman. Their contact information is linked.
Transcripts follow:
CNN
State of the Union
June 6, 2021
9:38 a.m. Eastern
JAKE TAPPER: The U.S. Supreme Court is going to hear arguments next term regarding a Mississippi law which bans abortions after 15 weeks, no exceptions for rape or incest. Is it your hope that the Supreme Court will use this law, which you support, as a vehicle for overturning or undermining Roe versus Wade?
GOVERNOR TATE REEVES (R-MS): Well, Jake, let me just tell you that for people such as myself that are pro-life, I believe that the Supreme Court made a mistake in the 1970s, but that's not the issue at stake that is before the court hopefully when the arguments are heard sometime in the fall. The question that is before the court -- and this is something that you mentioned earlier and that's with respect to understanding and appreciating and respecting science. The fact is, we know so much more in America today about the formation of young children in the womb than we did when Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.
We know so much more even than we knew when Casey was decided in 1992. That was almost 30 years ago. It is not unusual for the court to review cases from the past. And What we know now, Jake, is that we know that the heart has partially formed at 15 weeks. We know that the baby in the womb is practicing breathing. We know that most internal organs have started to form, and we believe that that child is viable outside the womb. And so the question is not, "Are you going to overturn Roe v. Wade?" The question is, "The science has changed, and therefore it makes sense for the court to review their decisions from the past," and this is a vehicle in which for them to do it.
TAPPER: And what do you say to a Mississippian who says, "Why are you telling a girl who has been raped by her uncle that she has to carry the child to term?
(...)
The Lead
May 15, 2019
4:30 p.m. Eastern
DIANE GALLAGHER: According to the Pew Research Center. 56 percent of Americans say abortion should[ be legal in all or most cases. For Republicans, those numbers are flipped with 59 percent saying abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
(...)
JAKE TAPPER: Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman, Jackie Speier. Congresswoman, thanks for joining us. What's your reaction to the Alabama legislation?
CONGRESSWOMAN JACKIE SPEIER (D-CA): It is a stunning example of 25 white men who have never and will never be pregnant trying to tell women how they are going to live their lives. And it is a right to privacy that a woman has in conjunction with her physician as to whether or not she is going to continue with the pregnancy or not. Seven out of 10 American women believe, regardless of their party affiliation, that abortion should be legal, safe, and subject to a determination made by a woman and her physician.
TAPPER: Do you think that this Supreme Court, with Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, is likely going to strike down Roe v. Wade?
SPEIER: Well, I would think that we would have to wait to see. I do believe that what you will find is that if you thought the pink hats that women were wearing after the 2016 election and the 3 million women who marched around this country was a significant move, you just wait until this issue is put in front of the justices and if they were, in fact, to overturn Roe v. Wade. That is a picture in which you'll see women with pitchforks.
TAPPER: So, obviously, you oppose these heartbeat bills, so-called heartbeat bills in states such as Georgia, Alabama, Ohio. What do you make of the more liberal legislation on abortion that has been passed in New York and Virginia that's been more controversial on the other side of the issue?
SPEIER: Well, I would first want to say that these heartbeat legislation is talking about a group of cells, four to five millimeters with some electrical activity. This is not a human being at that point, but that is what they are now defining as a human being. And for those on the other side of the legislative arena, I would just say, again, this is about the right to privacy. It is inherent in our Constitution. What if we decided that we were going to take male reproductive parts and start legislating whether or not you can have sperm come out of them. I mean, that is the detail to which these legislatures are taking action. And again, these were all white males in the Alabama state senate.
TAPPER: Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.
