Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Evidence Proves The Heartbreaking Case Of The 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Is True
The Wall Street Journal: Correcting The Record On A Rape Case
It appears President Biden was accurate when he related a story about a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped and traveled to Indiana for an abortion. We wondered Tuesday about the case, after no one had confirmed its accuracy or any public report of the crime, though the story had made the media rounds for nearly two weeks. (7/13)
CNN: Authorities Confirm Story About 10-Year-Old Rape Victim As Abortion Debate Rages
Two newspapers owned by Gannett, one in Indiana and one in Ohio, have humanized the new American reality about abortion now that Roe v. Wade has been reversed. And in doing so, they have highlighted the inhumanity of some partisan punditry. (Brian Stelter, 7/14)
New York Daily News: The Girl Is Real: President Biden Was Not Fabricating The Heart-Breaking, Infuriating Story Of A 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Forced To Travel For Her Abortion
On July 8, President Biden described with passion and exasperation the case of an Ohio girl needing an abortion in a nation where states can now radically abridge reproductive rights. ... The right-wing media then reflexively scoffed. Yesterday, a Wall Street Journal editorial, “An Abortion Story Too Good to Confirm,” spoke of “fanciful tales” and an “unlikely story from a biased source.” The same day, a crosstown tabloid owned by the same company ran an op-ed saying the story “leaves a number of glaring questions,” citing an “utter lack of confirmation.” On Fox News, host Jesse Watters lambasted a credulous press that had swallowed a purportedly hysterical left-wing lie. Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who appeared on the show, proclaimed it “more likely that this was a fabrication.” (7/14)
Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Republicans' Attempted Erasure Of A 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Is Incredibly Sick And Disturbed
Hamilton County Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou on Twitter called the case, “A garbage lie that a simple google search confirms is debunked.” State Rep. Brian Stewart tweeted the Washington Post story saying he “wouldn’t trust an abortionist to tell me whether the sky is blue.” Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted, “Another lie. Anyone surprised?” None of them had the patience to verify for themselves with certainty the truth of the matter before going public on a massive, self-serving scale. Jordan deleted his tweet. (David DeWitt, 7/13)
Columbus Dispatch: Attorney General Spread Misinformation About Ohio Girl Who Sought Abortion
There are few things viler and more sensitive than a criminal investigation involving a child rape victim. You don't have to be a prosecutor or detective to know that. (Amelia Robinson, 7/14)
Nieman Journalism Lab: Unimaginable Abortion Stories Will Become More Common. Is American Journalism Ready?
Countless abortion stories will never be told at all. It won’t be because they’re lies. It will be because telling them is too risky, because patients and doctors and staffers and volunteers will face arrest for coming forward. The facts will live on in the shadows. The women and children’s real lives will continue. Even if their stories seem “too good” to be true. Even if you wish they weren’t. (Laura Hazard Owen, 7/13)
USA Today: Ohio Girl Raped - We Forced Her Out Of State For An Abortion. Why?
When I sat down to write a column about this 10-year-old rape victim having to travel across state lines for an emergency abortion, I had just dropped my 6- and 4-year-old daughters off at summer school. (Carli Pierson, 7/14)
Columbus Dispatch: Should A Pregnant 10-Year-Old Be Allowed To Get An Abortion In Ohio?
Should a pregnant girls, rape survivors be allowed abortions in Ohio? Columbus Conversation: What is the Future of Abortion in Ohio? (Amelia Robinson, 7/13)
