Dozens of news outlets rushed to quibble with his words. An NBC "fact check" labeled the statement false. The law allows abortions "after 24 weeks if the fetus is not viable or when it’s necessary to protect the life of the mother," the fact-checker reported.
Defenders of this law and those like it say it is moderate and compassionate, concerned only with making sure women with life-threatening pregnancy complications are not left to die. But if one looks at the medical and legal context for the law and understands what exactly the terms mean, it becomes clear that the reality is much less straightforward‐and much darker