NBC News faces criticism for editing out Newsom's late-term abortion comments
A leading pro-life activist organization and media watchdog have criticized NBC News, claiming the network deliberately edited out comments made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on late-term abortion during an appearance on "Meet the Press" Sunday.
Newsom appeared on the talk show, discussing abortion policy and other issues related to the upcoming 2024 presidential election with host Kristen Welker.
Welker pressed the Democrat on what limits he supported on abortion. The governor responded by declaring, "I think we've established that firmly in the context of what states are doing like California, where we established a constitutional right to access abortion."
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"At the end of the day, I think that's a determination for women [and] for their doctors," he added.
After Welker jumped in to ask Newsom if he thought abortion should be available "at any week" during pregnancy, the governor replied, "As it relates to the debate around late-term abortion, that's a complete canard."
While the exchange was featured in the whole, unedited version of the interview posted on YouTube as well as the NBC News website, the conservative media watchdog NewsBusters reported that it did not make the cut for the version of the interview that aired on national television.
NewsBusters reporter Tim Graham maintained that a "smaller clip" featuring Newsom accusing Republicans of perpetuating a "war on women" that targets "contraceptives as it relates to mifepristone" was edited out as well. Mifepristone is one of a two-drug regimen included in the abortion pill, making it a lot different than a contraceptive.
A look at the transcript from Sunday's edition of "Meet the Press," as posted on the NBC News website, shows that the entire exchange is missing. An additional excerpt of Welker's conversation about abortion with Newsom, which features the NBC News host telling Newsom that "Republicans, though, say that Democrats want to allow abortions up until the time of birth," was also omitted.
Newsom claimed that "it's insulting to women" because of "fetal abnormalities" and "the life, not just of the mother but the baby, the likelihood that the baby won't even survive after the birth."
The portion of the interview featuring Newsom's comments about Republicans engaging in a "war on women" was partially included in the transcript, although the reference to mifepristone was edited out. Comments not related to abortion also did not make it into the transcript.
The part of the interview where Newsom identified Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley as "one of [Democrats'] better surrogates" who is "defining the opposition to Trump incredibly effectively" was also not included. Specifically, Newsom praised Haley for highlighting concerns about Trump's "temperament" and "capacity" while suggesting that it was inevitable that Trump would become the Republican nominee.
The entire episode of Sunday's edition of "Meet the Press," posted to YouTube, features about 10 minutes of Welker's interview with Newsom, which lasted about 17 minutes. Welker did not indicate that a more extensive interview was available for "Meet the Press" viewers online.
Some, among them Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Vice President of Communications Emily Erin Davis, believe the edits to the interview were deliberate.
In a statement published Tuesday, Davis cited the Newsom interview as the latest example of how Democrats' "media allies shamefully do the job of activists and cover for them" to hide the fact that "today's Democratic Party wants painful late-term abortion on demand, paid for by taxpayers, right up to the very end of the third trimester."
"They refuse to support any limits to protect babies or mothers at any point, they vilify pregnancy resource centers that serve the majority of women who want help to keep their babies, and they even brand parents as child abusers for protecting their daughters from the predatory abortion industry," stated Davis.
"Time after time, they refuse to answer the most straightforward questions about their no-limits agenda."
In his post, Graham wrote that NewsBusters "pounced and/or seized on Welker when she tried to tell Donald Trump no one favors abortion at any time, Democrats don't favor abortion at any time."
"Wrong! It's right there in the 2020 Democrat Party platform," he wrote. "The media-Democrat complex pretends the Republican pro-life stand is extreme, while the equally extreme abortion-on-demand stance isn't extreme at all. It's somehow the sensible center."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
