Media top headlines December 2
In media news today, Chris Cuomo's suspension has been 'challenging' and 'divisive' for the network according to an insider, an NBC producer appears to admit ordering freelancer to tail the Rittenhouse jury bus, and the ACLU comes under fire for a tweet celebrating abortion.
The Supreme Court's oral arguments over a Mississippi abortion law did not appear to go the liberal media's way, judging by their Flood of outraged reactions.
Both abortion activists and pro-lifers descended on the steps of the Supreme Court as arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health got underway Wednesday and wrapped up around noon. The state of Mississippi asked the court to strike down a lower court ruling that blocked its 15-week abortion ban law from taking effect.
As word reached the protesters outside about the indoor proceedings, abortion proponents, many of whom worry the decision could result in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, were not hopeful that the 6-3 conservative majority court would rule in their favor.
SUPREME COURT ABORTION CASE: 5 KEY MOMENTS FROM ORAL ARGUMENTS
People gather at an anti-abortion rally outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, as activists begin to arrive ahead of arguments on abortion at the court in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
NBC News legal analyst Maya Wiley predicted that if the justices side with Mississippi in their ruling, it will lead some women to their grave.
"To roll it back to 15 weeks is just another nail in the coffin and that coffin has a woman in it," she said on Thursday's "Morning Joe."
The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin, who has shifted sharply to the left on abortion over the past decade, insinuated the Constitution does not protect the rights of a fetus, only "persons." She called conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Samuel Alito arrogant for implying as much.
Erin Ryan, a Daily Beast contributor, made a colorful comparison.
"Forcing a person to give birth because they had sex is like forcing a person to run a 100 mile ultramarathon because they bought running shoes," she wrote.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, who had his own abortion scandal, said Wednesday's oral arguments were a "wall-to-wall disaster" for abortion proponents.
It was reported in 2010 that Toobin pushed for the abortion of a love child he fathered while married to another woman.
The conservative justices' line of questioning especially did not square with some pundits. Alito grilled lawyer Julie Rikelman, who argued the case for Center for Reproductive Rights, on whether viability was a logical legal threshold for when abortions should be prohibited. While a woman may still want to terminate a pregnancy after viability, a "fetus has an interest in having a life" both before and after, he said.
"In some people's view it doesn't, your honor," Rikelman replied. "It is principled because in ordering the interests at stake, the court had to set a line between conception and birth."
David Trujillo holds a sign as a school bus drives by on the street in front of a building housing an abortion provider in Dallas, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (AP Photo/LM Otero)
"The View's" Whoopi Goldberg was outraged by the questions, saying on Thursday's broadcast that men have no right to weigh in on the debate.
"Do any of you men have any eggs or the possibility of carrying a fetus?" she asked. "How dare you talk about what a fetus wants? You have no idea," Goldberg said. "I’m fine if you disagree with abortion, I have no problem with that. My problem comes when you tell me what I need to do with my doctor and my family. How dare you. How dare you!"
MSNBC's Joy Reid predicted that if the Court gets its way, a woman living in America will be reduced to a "secondary constitutional citizen."
This week's outbursts follow the media meltdowns over the Texas abortion bill that banned abortions after six weeks earlier this year. In that debate, media pundits and analysts compared the measure to slavery, terrorism, and the end times.
"The dark dystopian undertones of this just cannot be overstated," CNN's Alisyn Camerota commented at the time.
Anti-abortion rights activists protest outside the Supreme Court building, ahead of arguments in the Mississippi abortion rights case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, in Washington, December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
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The Court is expected to reach a ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health this spring.
Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.
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