Looking at the lack of in-depth reproductive rights questions asked during presidential debates thus far this election season, RH Reality Check's editor-in-chief, Jodi Jacobson, raised concerns about the role of journalists and debate moderators in “perpetuating both abortion stigma and the mirage of consequence-free abortion restrictions.”

In a February 10 article, Jacobson criticized the media for “becoming complicit in the lies and stigma surrounding abortion care” by not questioning politicians more carefully on their positions about abortion. According to Jacobson, although the “media loves to obsess about -- and stoke controversy around -- abortion and contraception” there has been very little interest in asking politicians, “Exactly what is the evidence for your position?” For example, following the February 6 Republican debate, conservative media hyped Marco Rubio's extreme abortion positions without demanding “specifics about the real-life consequences” or asking how such policies would impact the "real people affected by them," Jacobson wrote (emphasis original).

There is also ample evidence that political rhetoric -- particularly incendiary or misleading rhetoric -- influences the development of legislation that is harmful to women's health. For example, following media circulation of deceptively edited videos from Media Matters' 2015 Misinformer of the Year, the Center for Medical Progress, congressional Republicans threatened a government shutdown in an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. In reality, a growing number of state investigations have cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing while one grand jury in Texas has instead indicted CMP founder David Daleiden.

Jacobson said journalists have a “duty to best inform the public” and argued that their failure to do so on reproductive rights issues represents “outright bias.” She concluded that “starting with Thursday's debate, it's time to get real on abortion care and ask all presidential contenders some in-depth questions” :