Oh I have a joke.
Alright, what is it?
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Abortion.
Liz!
So every year, abortion is an issue that divides voters, candidates.
There has to be some form of punishment.
For the woman?
Yes. There has to be some form.
We've had eight debates before, this is our ninth, we've not had one question about a
woman's right to make her own decision about reproductive health care.
But this year, it could be the defining issue of this election.
The vacancy on the Supreme Court could look gaping if it leads to new law.
So as divisive as abortion is with passionate people on both sides, there's one side that's
been particularly vocal lately.
The crushing of body parts [inaudible] and the harvesting of body parts.
Liz aggressively shakes her sugar.
The sale of these infant body parts.
But how much do these passionate Americans really know about abortion?
Well a lot of them are probably here. We went to the Supreme Court for the first day of
oral arguments hearing the biggest abortion case the court has heard in over a decade.
The case deals with a Texas law called HB2. It's a law that forced abortion clinics to
meet the standards of surgical centers.
It's simple things like making the hallways of abortion clinics wider so that a gurney
can pass though.
Which means million dollar renovations for things like wider hallways or new janitor
closets.
It also lead to two thirds of abortion clinics in Texas shutting down.
It could force even more to close down as well.
So opponents say this is just to close down abortion clinics but proponents of the law
say that this is just about women's health...no no wait we're gonna go to the Supreme Court
now.
This law is about implementing common sense regulations that will keep women safe.
To make sure that they don't die on the abortion table. To make sure that they aren't butchered
by abortionists.
To just go in there with somebody that has a medical degree but a facility that doesn't
help them if they start bleeding out.
How often is surgery and sort of cutting involved when there's abortion?
"I am not a medical student."
Most abortions don't actually involve any kind of cutting or surgery.
But in the protestors' defense, a Vox poll showed that most Americans on both sides of
the aisle don't know this either.
How safe is abortion?
"I have no clue."
"Many women in Texas and other places around the country have been hurt in abortion facilities
that aren't up to basic medical standards."
"I mean I don't know a specific number but a lot."
Actually abortion is safer than a host of other really common procedures like getting
a colonoscopy or getting your wisdom teeth removed.
If you're only looking at the safety of the mother, abortion is actually safer than childbirth.
And again, it's not just anti-abortion protestors who don't know this.
So why do even the most motivated activists know so little about abortion.
I asked an abortion provider Dr. Rachael Phelps.
It's not just that Americans don't know these facts, though they don't, it's that the whole
debate around abortion has shifted and the pro-life movement is capitalizing on this
myth that abortion is inherently dangerous, and it's not.
And the whole strategy of shifting the abortion debate to a safety argument is working.
There have been about as many abortion restrictions enacted over the past five years than the
previous fifteen.
If you think abortion is inherently dangerous, why wouldn't you support these restrictions?
There are far more effective ways of actually improving women's health like increasing access
to health care, contraception, prenatal care.
But the majority of us don't know the facts. Or worse the facts that we do know are wrong.
Around 1 in 3 women will have an abortion in their lifetime.
Maybe it's time to talk about it with them.