'Take away grandpa's Facebook': House Republican blasted after bizarre 'late-term abortion' rant

United States Congressman Ken Buck (R--Colorado) peddled bogus right-wing talking points about abortion during a House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday.

"We use terms like late-term abortion, and it's, and it's, so polite. And it's, and it's – you could go to a cocktail party and you could talk about late-term abortion and not really offend anybody. You’re talking about ripping the arms off of a unborn baby, and then the legs, and then the head," Buck said.

The phrase "late-term abortion" is not part of the medical lexicon and was invented by conservatives to score political points.

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"There is no precise medical or legal definition of 'late-term,' and many doctors and scientists avoid that language, calling it imprecise and misleading," The Washington Post explained in 2019. "They say 'late-term' may imply that these abortions are taking place when a woman has reached or passed a full-term pregnancy, which is defined as starting in the 37th week."

These procedures, the paper pointed out, are exceptionally rare and are typically reserved for when the life of the mother is endangered. Yet Republicans frequently allude to them in their arguments against women's reproductive freedom, and they are often accompanied by allegations that pro-choice people support infanticide.

Physicians for Reproductive Health fellow Jenn Conti told the Post at the time that "no, absolutely, no," doctors do not terminate pregnancies if an expectant mother "is in the middle of giving birth. That's not how medical care works." She added that such claims are "sensationalized fake news."

The Post also cited The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which debunked the idea that women never need to end a pregnancy in the third trimester.

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Causes include "premature rupture of membranes and infection, preeclampsia, placental abruption, and placenta accreta," the ACOG said, stressing that "women in these circumstances may risk extensive blood loss, stroke, and septic shock that could lead to maternal death. Politicians must never require a doctor to wait for a medical condition to worsen and become life-threatening before being able to provide evidence-based care to their patients, including an abortion."

But that has not stopped lawmakers like Buck from pushing the GOP's counter-narrative.

"A beating heart, a central nervous system that is fully functional – and all of you sit on that side and suggest that we are in favor of a ban on abortion. I'll tell ya something the American people aren't in favor of. They aren't in favor of ripping the arms off of a baby, and the legs, and the head, and pulling that baby out," Buck declared.

Later in his address, Buck responded to remarks made by fellow Republican Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who invoked the medieval Mongolian Emperor Genghis Khan.

"And I would just warn the gentleman, my friend from New Jersey, that he's being unfair to Genghis Khan," Buck brooded. "No way he was as barbaric as we are in this country in what we're doing."

Meanwhile, Twitter users were curious about precisely who invokes "late-term abortions" at social gatherings.

Phyllis, Misty Mountain Top: "Who discusses late-term abortions at parties?"

ƊЄƝƛЄ: "No one goes to a party to talk about abortions. Actually, most women steer clear of the topic altogether because we never know what another woman may have gone through in their life."

tired_intexas: "Who talks about abortion at cocktail parties besides your rich donors who are just breathing a sigh of relief their mistress agreed to it? Seriously."

Brenda Of The North: "Their cocktail parties don't sound fun."

MTG Neanderthal Queen: "Late-term abortions are typically happening in emergency situations where something went wrong. These men think women are expendable."

Eileen Flynn: "What a classy guy. Telling us what HE talks about at cocktail parties. No one, NO ONE, talks about late-term abortions like this. Wonder what he would do if it was HIS daughter."

SheilaSigro: "'I'm not a doctor. I just play one on Congressional Committees”

Noise Bomb: "Someone needs to take away grandpa's Facebook."

Watch below or at this link.

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The Washington Post's full report is available here (subscription required).