The claim: Republican Senator Kevin Cramer said there should be no exceptions to abortion bans, that “the unborn child is worth losing the life of the mother”
In the spate of debate on social media that followed the leak of a draft Supreme Court ruling suggesting that the high court will overturn Roe v. Wade, an unverified and unsourced claim about the alleged position of a Republican senator sparked widespread outrage.
“NEW: Republican US Senator from North Dakota Kevin Cramer says unborn child is worth losing a mother’s life, says there are no exceptions,” it reads. a tweet from May 5 by Chris Evans (@notcapnamerica) who was later deleted.
Evans’s tweetthat seemed to be the origin of the claim, was retweeted more than 11,000 times and shared on Instagram, Facebook Y Twitter by numerous politician accounts and figures, including Representative Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
“These false righteous people are so willing to let children die in poverty, starvation, without health care,” it reads. an instagram post from the liberal activist page That’s Not Right which includes a screenshot of the tweet. “This is uniquely about controlling women’s place in society and punishing them for any sexuality outside of their extreme evangelical concept.”
The post has amassed more than 3,700 likes since May 5.
But the spread of the claim is yet another example of how outrage and other strong emotions can go hand in hand with disinformation: USA TODAY found no evidence that Cramerwho opposes abortion but has expressed support for some exceptions to the outright ban on the procedure, made the statement circulating on Twitter.
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USA TODAY has contacted several users who shared the claim for comment. Gallego deleted the tweet after learning it was inaccurate, Gallego’s spokeswoman, Jacques Petit, wrote in an email to USA TODAY.
Cramer admits some exceptions, he never made a statement claimed in the post
Neither USA TODAY nor others fact check outlets found evidence that Cramer has made a statement similar to the one in the post, and no evidence has surfaced to support the claim.
The senator’s spokeswoman, Molly Block, called the claim “false information” and said it originated from “a random tweet from a non-news source with absolutely no attribution,” in an email to USA TODAY.
Cramer, who has served in Congress since 2013, has always voted for and supported restrictions on abortion. The got an A+ for this record of the Susan B. Anthony List, which rates politicians based on their opposition to abortion.
However, it supports exceptions to the abortion ban in cases of mortal danger to the mother, according to its recent record and public statements. Cramer reinforced this position in a podcast launched on May 6.
“If you are for life, you are going to be for the life of the mother, as well as the life of the unborn child.” Cramer said on an episode of Plain Talk with Rob Port. “Saving the mother’s life is a very obvious exemption.”
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Cramer’s recent record aligns with these statements.
In 2021, it co-sponsored the Law for the Protection of Life and Taxpayers, which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion except in cases of mortal danger to the mother, rape or incest. He too co-signed a friend of the court brief in support of Mississippi bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which makes an exception for cases where the mother’s doctor certifies that she would be in mortal danger without an abortion.
Our rating: False
Based on our investigation, we rate as FALSE Cramer’s statement that there should be no exceptions to abortion bans and that “a fetus is worth losing a mother’s life for.” Cramer’s spokesman said he made no such statement, and USA TODAY found no evidence Cramer said anything to that effect. Cramer has said that she supports exceptions in cases of mortal danger to the mother and co-sponsored legislation in 2021 that also had exceptions for rape and incest.
Our fact-checking sources:
- Congress.Gov, accessed May 10, S.2270 – Life and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2021
- Check your fact, May 9, Fact check: Did North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer say that saving a fetus is worth losing the life of the mother?
- InForum, May 6, Straight talk: Senator Cramer talks about Roe v. Wade, January 6, food shortages and the Ukraine
- Press release from Senator Kevin Cramer, February 22, Press Release: Senator Cramer Votes Against Abortion-On-Demand Law Until Birth
- Senator Kevin Cramer, July 30, 2021, Press Release: Senator Cramer Joins Over 200 Members of Congress to File an Amicus Brief Urging the Supreme Court to Uphold Mississippi’s Pro-Life Law
- Molly Block, May 10, email statement to USA TODAY
- Senator Kevin Cramer, January 19, cheep
- USA TODAY, May 3, Supreme Court verifies authenticity of leaked opinion in abortion case, but says decision is not final
- USA TODAY, December 1, 2021, The Supreme Court signals its support for Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban with Roe v. wade in balance
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Reference-www.usatoday.com