Conservatives Are Coming for Prenatal Tests
2.28.25
Jessica Valenti
Mar 1
Conservatives’ Next Target: Prenatal Tests
Back in 2023, I wrote an investigation about the anti-abortion movement’s quiet campaign to force women to carry doomed pregnancies to term. This wasn’t just about banning abortions for fatal fetal abnormalities—which would be bad enough. It was a broad, calculated assault on legislation, medical norms, and patient care.One of the most chilling aspects of this effort is the attack on prenatal testing. Conservatives don’t just want to ban abortion; they want to stop pregnant people from even learning about fetal abnormalities. After all, what better way to force someone to carry a nonviable pregnancy than by preventing them from finding out their diagnosis in the first place?
Similarly, anti-abortion groups have ramped up disinformation about prenatal testing—questioning its accuracy, exaggerating risks from procedures like amnios, and painting the ‘prenatal testing industry’ as a big business only interested in money. They’ve also lobbied to restrict access to these tests altogether.
I’m sorry to say that I’ve noticed that rhetoric ramping up over the last few months, with conservatives leaning even harder on lies about the supposed dangers of prenatal testing. Focus on the Family’s publication, the Daily Citizen, for example, published a piece this week declaring that “In-Utero Diagnosis Is Being Used to Push Abortion.”
The article cited a so-called ‘study’ from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, which claims patients diagnosed with fatal fetal abnormalities feel pressured into abortion. Both the study and The Daily Citizen—which put terms like “fatal fetal anomalies” and “non-viability” in scare quotes—insist that “there is no universally accepted definition of a lethal or fatal fetal anomaly” and that such diagnoses “aren’t reliable.”
Their proposed solution? They want doctors to stop using terms like “fatal,” “lethal,” and “terminal” entirely—arguing that if a physician calls a condition lethal, “it becomes lethal.” In other words, they want health care providers to lie to patients.
This is exactly what I warned about in 2023 when anti-abortion groups were pushing doctors to say “pre-viable” instead of “non-viable,” and “potentially life-limiting” instead of “fatal.”
I feel depressingly confident that we’ll see even more efforts like this soon—especially as infant deaths ramp up because of laws that force women to carry doomed pregnancies.
Read more about conservatives’ campaign to turn women into ‘walking coffins’ below, in my column about the new mommy wars. The short version? We’re about to see women pitted against each other over abortion—specifically, those who end nonviable or medically fraught pregnancies, and those who choose to carry to term:
Read the rest at the link above.
I thank Ms. Valenti for keeping the rest of us informed.
The outright evil of not wanting parents to have the ability to know if something is wrong with their fetus. Absolute evil.
It’s straight up misogyny.
Brett Murphy
@BrettMmurphy
ProPublica just obtained a remarkable directive to those remaining at USAID: Empty the safes with the classified and personnel records and then …
“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break.”
https://x.com/BrettMmurphy/status/1899485474088976605
Here’s the best shot at finally forcing Senate Democrats to fight against the DOGE crime spree, which is really an attack on the sovereignty of the American people. What this bill, the new continuing resolution bill, amounts to is an Elon license deal…What Slotkin is saying here is that she won’t vote yes until that stops — in other words, cuts which go against Congress’ own funding law…The issue is holding her to it.
So if you’re Slotkin’s constituent, I strongly recommend calling her office today and thanking her for her commitment and saying you plan to hold her to it. And I would be calling every other Democratic senator too. From what I can tell, most other Democratic senators are saying something similar but also in messy/squishy ways. Same deal. What will lock them down is hearing from their constituents.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/will-dems-pick-up-their-sword
The Washington Post publisher met for coffee last month with a prominent right-leaning journalist to discuss ways to lure more conservative reporters and editors to the predominantly left-leaning outlet, according to a report.
Will Lewis, who was tapped to lead the Washington Post by multi-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, sat down for an off-the-record meeting with Free Beacon editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson, according to Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter.
It is unclear what came of the meeting, according to Status. The Post has sought comment from Lewis.
….
Staffers who spoke to Status describe a newsroom that has been beset by low morale in the wake of leadership’s decisions.
“I’ve worked in messy newsrooms and even when I fled those, I still thought I could confidently tell someone why they should or should not work there, depending on their career goals and values,” one former Washington Post employee told Status.
“I can make no such case about The Post anymore.”
https://nypost.com/2025/03/05/media/washington-post-wants-help-recruiting-right-leaning-journalists/
Washington Post editor resigns after accusing CEO of killing column
Ruth Marcus, a columnist and associate editor, said she had no choice as the paper’s traditional press freedoms have “dangerously eroded” at the Post.
Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) posted at 0:16 PM on Mon, Mar 10, 2025:
For decades, the Presidential Management Fellows program was seen as a building block for the civil service with the expectation that the few who earned the position would one day become leaders in the federal workforce. Now the road ahead is uncertain. https://t.co/Q75pQq3Lue
(https://x.com/chicagotribune/status/1899147275563135007?s=03)
Immigration agents arrest Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal immigration authorities arrested a Palestinian activist Saturday who played a prominent role in Columbia University’s protests against Israel, a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s pledge to detain and deport student activists.
Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia until this past December, was inside his university-owned apartment Saturday night when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered and took him into custody, his attorney, Amy Greer, told The Associated Press.
Greer said she spoke by phone with one of the ICE agents during the arrest, who said they were acting on State Department orders to revoke Khalil’s student visa. Informed by the attorney that Khalil was in the United States as a permanent resident with a green card, the agent said they were revoking that instead, according to the lawyer.
https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-15014bcbb921f21a9f704d5acdcae7a8
dana (@dana916) posted at 3:35 PM on Sat, Mar 08, 2025:
🇺🇸🇵🇱 Poles are observing interesting changes
The Americans dismantled a transport platform of several hectares at the Rzeszow airbase, which was installed there back in 2021 to accommodate military cargo arriving in Poland and then transporting it to Ukraine.
Even the paving slabs were dismantled and taken away by American specialists. There were no transport flights to Rzeszow after Trump’s decision to cancel aid to Ukraine. It’s not known how things are with the railway and sea routes, but everything by air has been suspended.
The dismantling of additional infrastructure at a key logistics hub in Poland signals a real change in the US administration’s approach, and Ukraine is under enormous pressure.
Archangel of Spetsnaz
https://t.co/U6licVqZft
(https://x.com/dana916/status/1898487780369412255?t=m69OJeiUQJreC2K-JPdwDw&s=03)
Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) posted at 3:15 PM on Sun, Mar 09, 2025:
Trump is even having the airfield abilities to transport weapons through Poland removed to assure that aid to Ukraine can no longer move through.
Dismantling concrete slabs, warehousing.
The US has no intention of helping Ukraine again.
(https://x.com/JayinKyiv/status/1898830132468490451?t=OG3xTqi2l5phwTD3w8DiHQ&s=03)
Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) posted at 8:19 AM on Mon, Mar 10, 2025:
Trump Recession Timeline:
1. This will be a Golden Age on Day 1! Prices will come down and economy will boom!
2. These policies won’t cause a recession. We know what we’re doing.
3. Ok, it will cause short-term pain but will be good in long term.
4. This is Biden’s recession!
(https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1899087722595115125?t=nj_vI-Bi0J6qKvVMSPRl0A&s=03)
Chris “Law Dork” Geidner (@chrisgeidner) posted at 8:40 AM on Mon, Mar 10, 2025:
BREAKING: The Supreme Court takes up a case challenging Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors, after having previously turned down many other similar challenges.
(https://x.com/chrisgeidner/status/1899093033909387597?t=7sIGgbg6MGCoThsyh2VJ7Q&s=03)
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊