Former DNC Communications Director and NARAL Pro-Choice America board member Karen Finney recently received her own weekend show on MSNBC and it appears that her radical views on abortion will be a regular theme across the “Lean Forward” network.
Appearing as a guest on Now w/ Alex Wagner on June 13, Finney claimed that Rep. Trent Franks’ (R-Ariz.) efforts to ban abortions based on race demonstrate that “the guy is whacked out anyway.” [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.]
Finney, a vociferous abortion rights advocate who advises a group which opposes a ban on sex-selection abortions, was brought on to discuss comments made by the Arizona Republican, where he said that, “the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low.” Unsurprisingly, Ms. Finney was outraged by Franks’ comments, observing that:
Trent Franks is also someone though who wanted to amend the Civil Rights Act to include that you can't have an abortion based on race. So I mean the guy is whacked out anyway.
Rather than being challenged for her comments by her fellow panelists -- not even by pro-lifer and former RNC chairman Michael Steele -- Ms. Finney was allowed to continue ranting against Republicans on the subject of abortion. It isn’t clear whether or not Ms. Finney was arguing that Mr. Franks’ is “whacked out” for attaching an amendment regarding banning race-based abortions to a reauthorization to the Civil Rights Act or if she actually has no problem with abortionists who target their services to the elimination of babies of one race over others.
Nowhere in the segment did Ms. Finney bother to clarify her outrageous comments, which leads us to wonder whether or not Ms. Finney would oppose a ban on gender-based abortions as well as race-based ones. As a liberal who is fine with hate-crimes legislation, why not support abortions which are predicated on racial hatred or misogyny?
As an abortion activist, we shouldn’t be surprised at Ms. Finney’s opposition to any regulation on abortion, but her possible suggestion that banning race-based suggestions makes someone “whacked out” shows just how extreme the hosts at MSNBC are on the subject.
See relevant transcript below.
MSNBC
Now w/ Alex Wagner
June 13, 2013
12:20 p.m. Eastern
ALEX WAGNER: Joining us now from Washington is former DNC Communications Director and host of MSNBC's "Disrupt," Karen Finney. She is also a board member of NARAL pro-choice America. Karen, I will tell you that Michael Steele is sitting on the far end of this table and is so excited that I am introducing you first and giving you the first question as opposed to him.
KAREN FINNEY: Oh I bet he is. And I bet he's even more happy that I'm not sitting there right next to him.
WAGNER: Yes that’s also true. That's also true. But let's talk about this, Karen cuz I don't know
FINNEY: You can't make this stuff up!
WAGNER: You actually can't. What were your reactions to Trent Franks' comments?
FINNEY: You know, Trent Franks is also someone though who wanted to amend the Civil Rights Act to include that you can't have an abortion based on race. So I mean the guy is whacked out anyway. I hate to say it but I guess I agree with Gomez, what a moron. But I think more seriously than this, you know we've seen this kind of legislation cropping up in the states. We've now seen it here on Capitol Hill. And there's two things. Right? One is, these men have decided that women's reproductive freedom and health is the way they're going to keep trying to stoke the ire of their base. I think a lot of us are really sick of that. I wish they'd go find some other subject. But then secondly, on a very serious note, what's dangerous about this is that the legal strategy is to try to get a case to the Supreme Court to try to actually challenge Roe versus Wade very directly. And that’s when this becomes very serious. You are right, these fetal pain bills, the evidence suggests that that is completely inaccurate. That has not stopped people from like Scott Walker from introducing yet another vaginal probe requirement for women.
