Jen Psaki has been slammed by conservative pundits after she snapped at a male reporter who asked how President Joe Biden squares his pro-choice abortion views with his Catholic faith.
Owen Jensen, a reporter for Catholic television network EWTN, quizzed Psaki on the Commander-in-chief’s conflicting views during a White House Press Briefing on Thursday, following the Supreme Court’s refusal to block a restrictive new abortion law in Texas.
‘He [Biden] believes it’s a woman’s right, it’s a woman’s body and it’s her choice. It’s up to a woman to make those decisions and a woman’s decision to make with her doctor,’ Psaki stated.
She then turned personal, telling Jensen in a dismissive manner: ‘I know you have never faced those choices, nor have you ever been pregnant but for women out there who have faced those choices, this is an incredibly difficult thing and the president believes that right should be respected.’
Several conservatives criticized Psaki’s comment, claiming it implied that men should have no say in the abortion debate, despite expectation that they be hands-on fathers to their children.
Fr. Frank Pavone, a Catholic Preist, wrote: ‘Jen Psaki is still using the tired old excuse for #abortion that men cannot get pregnant. Since when does that take away a man’s responsibility to defend a child from violence?’
Ed Condon, the editor of Substack page The Pillar, similarly wrote: ‘The fundamental premise of Jen Psaki’s comments is that fathers have no intrinsic stake in the life of their children. It’s also the fundamental premise of a society which views children as transferable commodities.’
Jen Psaki has been slammed by conservative pundits after she snapped at a male reporter who asked how President Joe Biden squares his pro-choice abortion views with his Catholic faith
Meanwhile, Brietbart editor Joel Pollack wrote: ‘Telling a male reporter he can’t ask a question about the president’s views on abortion (has @JoeBiden never been pregnant, either, to the best of my knowledge) and religion was a real low point for Jen Psaki. It was bigoted and unprofessional. I hope she walks it back.’
Some other conservatives claimed Psaki was using language that was not ‘gender-inclusive’ as she stated abortion was a ‘woman’s right’ and implied that those who identify as male cannot get pregnant.
In recent years, many on the left have attempted to usher in a more inclusive language to describe those who are pregnant. Recently, Democratic Rep. Cori Bush replaced ‘pregnant women’ with the term ‘birthing people’ to describe those who were expecting.
‘I was told men can get pregnant and that they can chest feed,’ pundit Katie Pavlich wrote beneath a clip of Psaki snapping at the male reporter.
Meanwhile, Newsmax contributor Jessie Jane Duff chimed: ‘Jen Psaki and her ilk actually voiced their outrage that they can’t kill another human being after its heart starts to beat. They are soulless ghouls. “Her choice to stop another human beings heartbeat” isn’t quite as catchy as “My body my choice”. And they know it.’
Pro-life advocate Lila Rose wrote: ‘I’ve been pregnant, and it’s *still* not my right, or anyone else’s, to kill a baby. Being a woman or being pregnant does not give you license to kill. Women deserve better than abortion. The President’s position is illogical, unscientific, immoral & 40 years wrong.’
However, there were many people who praised Psaki for her impassioned response to the male reporter
Psaki won praise from many on Twitter, with one calling her the best Press Secretary in modern history
However, there were many people who praised Psaki for her impassioned response to the male reporter.
‘Jen Psaki really does get right to the point,’ left-wing activist Charlotte Clymer cooed.
Congressional candidate and ex-Army Officer Mark Judson chimed in: ‘While Jen Psaki is clearly amazing – the SHAME is that So. Much. of her time and energy has to be WASTED on these dirty, Right Wing Propagandists who attack America day in, and day out. Just ANOTHER way that RepubliQans betray America. They belong in Prison.’
Meanwhile, another expressed their admiration for the Press Secretary, stating: ‘I will NEVER understand the arrogance of conservative men who believe they have the right to control, govern, and legislate the bodies of women. Jen Psaki continues to be the best White House Press Secretary in modern history. #PsakiBomb’.
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The tense exchange between Psaki and the male reporter came after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that it would not block Texas’ new restrictive law which will ban almost all abortions after six weeks.
The law, known as the ‘Texas Heartbeat Act’, bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is normally after six weeks and before many women even know they are pregnant.
It makes no exceptions for rape or incest and allows Texans to report people, including Uber drivers, who help or take women to get abortions. The only exemption is if there is a danger to the woman’s health.
Other right-leaning states – including Florida and South Carolina – may be the next to follow the newly-implemented bill.
Florida State Senator Wilton Simpson said in a Thursday statement that it could be ‘worthwhile to take a look at the Texas law and see if there is more we can do here in Florida.’
Simpson was backed by Governor Ron DeSantis said, who said he’d mull a ban.
Texas Right to Live legislative director John Seago told Forbes that South Carolina was also considering an abortion bill.
Meanwhile, Psaki said agencies across the White House and Department of Justice were working quickly to determine ‘what, if any, steps can be taken here to protect a woman’s right to choose and access to healthcare for women in Texas.’
Other abortion laws are enforced by state and local officials, with criminal sanctions possible.
After a federal appeals court refused to allow a prompt review of the law before it took effect, the measure’s opponents sought Supreme Court review.
Biden released a forceful statement Thursday directing the executive branch to undermine the Supreme Court after it refused to take up a case regarding Texas’s restrictive new abortion law.
‘The highest Court of our land will allow millions of women in Texas in need of critical reproductive care to suffer while courts sift through procedural complexities,’ Biden wrote.
