Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is on the edge of a cliff in her second go-round at attempting to take down Republican Governor Brian Kemp, and when Democrats are in a state of panic, they typically get themselves into some very desperate things.
That's precisely what Abrams did in her shockingly insightful comments on Tuesday about her position regarding abortion. As RedState reporter Bonchie wrote, Abrams declared the notion that the fetal heartbeat starts at 6 weeks old to be an untruth that was “manufactured” by the patriarchy in order to control women.
“It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body,” Abrams, who is a pro-abortion advocate up to the time of birth, declared at an Atlanta ceremony.
On Twitter, she made the situation even worse to herself, saying it was crucial that women of color, particularly, have the right to terminate their pregnancy at any point of pregnancy, because “Outlawing abortion perpetuates the cycle of poverty that disproportionately affects Black + Brown women & harms our economy.”
The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler, who we've been assured that is a “fact-checker” for the newspaper, tried to come to Abrams' rescue by declaring that she was right about the time when the fetal heartbeat starts:
FWIW, “fetal heartbeat” is a misnomer. The ultrasound picks up electrical activity generated by an embryo. The so-called “heartbeat” sound you hear is created by the ultrasound. Not until 10 weeks can the opening and closing of cardiac valves be detected by a Doppler machine. …
Then he provided a URL for the NPR “report” on the issue, believing that it would support his assertion. The report didn't, however.
As you can imagine, Kessler was torn into pieces by those who accused him of being a liar not only for the terms that he employed, but also for his claimed “facts,” which as it turned out were not “facts” at all.
Up until two months ago, Planned Parenthood (surprisingly) had facts regarding the moment a fetal heartbeat occurs in its website.
Also, there was a shocking thread by radiologist Pradheep Shanker which shattered Kessler's argument as well as similar arguments put forth by leftists that are pro-abortion regarding the fetal beat issue.
Shanker asked, “Glenn… This is scientifically and medically incorrect. 100%. Ultrasound can’t detect electrical activity. Who told you otherwise?” He also noted that “The NPR link you cited is WRONG.”
“Ultrasound only detects density and motion. It cannot detect any electrical activity at all. This is a scientific fact,” Shanker explained.
“It is true that the valves in the heart develop later. However, the cardiac muscles that are located in the embryological heart are contracting. They are in fact moving inward and outward. That is how you define a beat,” the doctor added.
Prior to insisting Kessler remove the tweets as well as “issue an apology because this is really a pathetic scientific document,” Shanker continued to delve deeper into the subject.
“[Is] the beat the same as a fully grown adult beat? Of course not. We’re talking early [in] biological development. However, the cardiac tissue is contracting, which is literally what a beat is. To say otherwise is scientific misinformation, and cannot be treated otherwise. ”
But, most importantly, the audio and video proof is out there for the whole world to see.
So, Kessler was just as much in error as Stacey Abrams was. The only thing he didn't fact-check, however, was the rest of her statements in which she spoke about the fact that the fetal heartbeat argument was believed to be a weapon used by the patriarchy according to ex-NRSC Advisor Matt Whitlock.
“What about the idea that what many doctors (and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine) call a heartbeat is ‘a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a women’s body’ as Abrams alleges?” Whitlock asked.
Kessler hasn’t replied to questions. Therefore, it would seem that the chances of him responding to the question are very slim.
