Critics grilled Washington Post chief fact-checker Glenn Kessler Thursday after he said the claim that Democrat lawmakers supporting late-term abortions was a "Republican talking point."
Kessler focused on Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' comments during Wednesday's GOP primary debate. During the debate, DeSantis said the Democratic Party supports abortions "all the way up to birth."
"We’re better than what the Democrats are selling. We are not going to allow abortion all the way up till birth, and we will hold them accountable for their extremism," DeSantis said.
Kessler criticized DeSantis’ line as a "common Republican talking point," and argued that it was the wrong characterization of Democrat policies. However, Kessler did not deny that Democrats have advocated policies that allow for the procedure.
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Kessler’s main criticism was that late-term abortions are rare. He argued DeSantis was implying Democrat support making these abortions common.
"This is a common Republican talking point — that Democrats support nationwide abortion-on-demand up until the moment of birth. The implication is that late-term abortions are common — and that they are routinely accepted by Democrats," he wrote.
Kessler fixated on the rareness of the procedure, adding, "The reality, according to federal and state data, is that abortions past the point of viability are extremely rare. When they do happen, they often involve painful, emotional and even moral decisions."
The fact-checker provided data showing that most abortions happen early in pregnancies.
"About two-thirds of abortions occur at eight weeks of pregnancy or earlier, and nearly 90 percent take place in the first 12 weeks, or within most definitions of the first trimester, according to estimates by the Guttmacher Institute, which favors abortion rights," Kessler wrote. "About 5.5 percent of abortions take place after 15 weeks, with just 1.3 percent at 21 weeks or longer."
Conservatives on social media reminded Kessler that many Democrats in Congress do support any restrictions on abortion.
The Spectator contributing editor Stephen Miller called out Kessler for dodging DeSantis’ assertion, that Democrats have pushed legislation supporting late-term abortions.
"Abortion is legal up to the point of birth in Colorado, California and Minnesota. You somehow forgot that part in your ‘Fact check’ and instead pivot to ‘Republican talking point.’ An outstanding hack job by you, even by your own standards," he posted to X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
Miller added, "The comment isn't about if it's rare or not. The fact check is what laws are Democrats actually passing and supporting, and weird, you avoided that one. You avoided checking that for a reason, because you know DeSantis (and others) is right."
RedState writer "Bonchie" used Kessler’s line against the left’s calls for gun control. He posted, "Can’t wait for your fact-check on how almost no shootings occur with ‘assault weapons.’"
Journalist Avatans Kumar replied to Kessler’s article, asking, "Don't you have better things to do? Why do you underestimate your readers?"
Former White House press secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki found herself in similar hot water when she posted during the debate that "No one supports abortion up until birth."
A contributing columnist for the Washington Post also called out the media for refusing to acknowledge Democrats' position on this issue.
"News outlets from the Associated Press to CBS to The Post have offered similar ‘corrections’ when Republicans have said that Democrats favor keeping abortion legal even late in pregnancy," Ramesh Ponnuru wrote.
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