Erin Morrow Hawley from Alliance Defending Freedom met her match today at the hearing for abortion rights when she learned that Rep. Ayanna Pressley wasn't going to take her sh*t. (The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the ADF as a hate group.)
"When an ectopic pregnancy ruptures, what are the chances that it can be carried to term?" the Massachusetts Congresswoman asked Hawley.
A fetus cannot survive an ectopic pregnancy. That's a fact. It cannot survive outside the uterus.
Hawley said, "My understanding is that when an ectopic pregnancy ruptures, it's a life-threatening condition. That's why the treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion."
"Reclaiming my time," Pressley said. "Again, just answer the question. When an ectopic pregnancy ruptures, what are the chances that it be safely carried to term? And just to make this even clearer, I'm looking for a number from zero to 100. can you give me a percentage?"
"Sure," Hawley said, "I believe zero ectopic pregnancies even though they do not rupture...have a chance at...uh...being successfully carried to term. That's why the treatment for that is not abortion."
"Reclaiming my time," Pressley said. "It seems that there is a deficit in your understanding of reproductive health. In fact, I want the record to reflect that according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, treatment for ectopic pregnancy requires ending a non-viable pregnancy."
Hawley said, "That's not an abortion."
Pressley wasn't having it and said, "This is my time. I asked you the question. You answered, and I'm now providing you with accurate information from medical experts. My question was, 'When an ectopic pregnancy ruptures, what are the chances that it can be carried to term?' The answer is zero percent."
She wasn't done.
Pressley called it an "active misinformation campaign," and she's not wrong.