The debate over newly-enacted pro-life legislation in various states continues to roil Spanish-language media. On one major national outlet there appears to be no debate, but rather a one-sided monologue.
Below you’ll see two clips from Entravision’s weekly political affairs show Politica Ya (and its prior version, Perspectiva Nacional) that are precisely a year apart, that showcase a strong pro-abortion bias, as voiced here by host and anchor Tsi-Tsi-Ki Félix:
TSI-TSI-KI FÉLIX, HOST: Like many women that consider that, obviously, the right to one’s own body, to determine what we shall do with it is very important. But, how do you craft an argument against those women who think that babies are being murdered? How does one reach that level of compromise, Johanny?
JOHANNY ADAMES, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Of course, you’re talking about bodily autonomy, primarily. The decision over your body, of your deciding over your own body, and that falls upon the woman. The woman, her doctor, and her faith. It isn’t a decision that we can make here, neither is it a decision that politicians should make...in no state legislature and in no Congress, right? Government cannot make decisions for us, that is simply what I would say to those women.
(....)
FELIX,: While I consider it monstrous that some women use abortion as a family planning method and view it as just another procedure, it is also unacceptable to deny a woman’s basic right to choose (whether) to be a mother or not. Nowadays, that right is in limbo. Trump’s gag law denies basic funding to clinics that help women with certain reproductive aspects nationwide. This goes beyond pursuing our own bodily self-sovereignty as women. This is about those who lack the resources to plan their families and end up submitting to procedures that end their lives. I’m Tsi-Tsi-Ki Felix. Until next time.
Entravision is a global media company based out of California, that owns 55 primary TV stations and is the largest affiliate group for Univision. Most of these properties are located in the West and Southwest, but Entravision owns the TV stations along Florida’s I-4 Corridor (Orlando, Tampa), and in Washington D.C.
What you saw in the video above is Entravision’s weekly political affairs show that is broadcast by each of these affiliates. Host Tsi-Tsi-Ki Félix also serves as anchor for Univision’s local newscast in Washington, D.C. As such, Politica Ya’s reach is second only to Univision’s Al Punto.
The entire segment ran for close to 8 minutes. Two of those were a report on pro-abortion protests filed from the Tampa affiliate which, interestingly, mentioned that few Hispanic women attended these protests but otherwise featured no balance. The most challenging question in that segment was the one shown above. Otherwise, éelix lobbed softball after softball to the Planned Parenthood spokesperson. Other examples of questions include:
- "Many protests, many women consider that these antiabortion laws are a direct violation of their bodies and (their) rights. What is Planned Parenthood doing and how is that type of current situation being envisioned?"
- "Johanny, many things that we need to consider now, isn’t that these are laws passed in different states, but perhaps a strategy to change what happened in 1973, Roe v. Wade which gave women rights over their bodies, what could we see in the near future?"
- "What is Planned Parenthood doing to counter this?"
This segment, if it could be called that, seems more appropriate to a Planned Parenthood panel discussion than for a nationally-syndicated public affairs show. Anyone thinking that this could be an outlier can look to the clip from last year, with the same strong bias in support of abortion.
It bears asking: is Entravision’s Politica Ya a definite no-go zone for pro-life voices that could otherwise come in and make their case to the community? Based on what we’ve seen so far, Univision's Al Punto actually seems fair and balanced in comparison.
