Walter Cronkite, the media’s original abortion advocate
LifeSiteNews reported yesterday:
… [W]hile remembered by many as “the most trusted man in America,” many of Walter Cronkite’s more radical, but lesser known views, would be considered repugnant even to many of his greatest fans.
For instance, up until his death Cronkite served as honorary chair of the Interfaith Alliance, an organization dedicated to countering the influence of conservative Christianity on federal politics….
Part and parcel with Cronkite’s campaign against religion in public life was his outspoken vocal support of abortion and same-sex marriage. In 2003-2004… Cronkite wrote a column for King Features Syndicate, which was published in about 180 newspapers….
It certainly is the right of the anti-abortionists and those who oppose gay marriages to defend, express and even propagandize their beliefs,” he says, “but is it their right to impose their definition of morality on those who hold opposing views? The answer is a resounding ‘no’…. This columnist believes that among conservatives and liberals alike there is a majority who would put the sanctity of individual rights even above the sanctity with which some would endow the banning of abortion and gay marriage….
In 1965, before abortion was made legal in the US, Cronkite made CBS the first network in America to feature a documentary on abortion when he hosted the hour-long episode of CBS Reports entitled “Abortion and the Law”…
The documentary claimed to tackle the controversial issue impartially, dealing with the “legal, moral and medical aspects,” but in fact, it amounts to an hour-long argument in favor of legal abortion. Amidst a barrage of experts spouting the need for abortion and women giving horrifying testimonies about illegal abortions, Cronkite pays mere lip service to the pro-life viewpoint….
Cronkite concludes, “We believe the moral, medical, social, and economic aspects of abortion should be opened to public discussion, for if changes in the law are advisable, this can only be done by the American people themselves….”
That would have been nice, but as we know the American people were not the ones to keep or change abortion law as Cronkite suggested. Activist judges did. But it is reasonable to assume Cronkite approved the Supreme Court’s anarchy since he never disavowed it but rather went on to condone legalized abortion the rest of his life.
Here is that CBS documentary:
[Photo attribution: lifesitenews.com]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
What a liar! 3,000 illegal abortions per day! We only have 4,400 legal abortions daily now.
I seriously hope he repented of the lying and the baby killing before he met his maker.
On what did Cronkite base his statistics at the beginning of the documentary?
How could anybody possibly know with any certainty the number of illegal abortions that took place at all, much less on a day to day basis? My cousin’s wife would go to her OB for a “menstrual extraction” before Roe v Wade. As far as I know there was no way this would be reported. Certainly doctors kept this sort of thing very quiet.
Mr. Pontificator! I knew there was some reason I didn’t like him, other than his pretensiousness. Gah, what a ham.
Mr. Pontificator! I knew there was some reason I didn’t like him, other than his pretensiousness. Gah, what a ham.
Posted by: Andy at July 22, 2009 12:29 PM
Same here. I knew very little about the guy, other than my dad didn’t like him because of his reporting in Vietnam, and felt uneasy about every news reporter on television posthumously kissing his posterior…But this confirms my uneasy feeling.
I seriously hope he repented of the lying and the baby killing before he met his maker.
Posted by: Jacqueline at July 22, 2009 12:03 PM
unlikely. Abortion supporters are diehards (pun intended) to the bitter end.
For such a renowned reporter, shame on Cronkite for stooping to making up stats.
What a sham of a report by CBS. Women are made out to be like helpless little birds, being “saved” by heroic (actually wimpy) doctors. Good job, Mr. Cronkite. :(
I always wonder if he felt in part responsible for the Killing Fields that came about because of his ‘Vietnam is unwinnable” statement. He was the Liberals’ liberal — no real principle there, just vanity.
I agree with all the comments, I never cared for this pompuss a**..
Cronkite was a media creation, a phony and a fraud. He could probably have read a telephone book on a newscast and have people captivated. Sound like someone we know?
It was a period in time when the power of the young medium of television was being discovered and developed on a daily basis. An authoritative looking person with an equally authoritative delivery style and voice brought all of the elements together to create the impression what he said was fact. Other outlets tried to imitate, such as with Howard K. Smith, but did not quite match Cronkite’s reach.
“All the news that fits (the liberal humanist agenda.)”
yor bro ken
Amazing to listen to a young Fr. Robert Drinan, S.J. strongly condemning abortion and defending the moral, legal and philosophical reasons for the law.
Equally amazing were the candid admissions by those favoring legal abortion that the abortion would be killing a human being. Only one California representative trying to change the law misrepresented the legal history of abortion.
but of course Cronkite and his team had an agenda. Armed with made up statistics and giving Alan Guttmacher the lion’s share of the time, the piece was a propaganda tool for the abortion proponents. Using words like “epidemic” proportions, and other hyperbole, Cronkite set the stage for the ultimate recommendation that the laws be changed. Stating that each year 5,000 women died from complications due to illegal abortions was one gross lie. Stating that there were a million abortions in 1962, was another big lie.
finding this was a very good thing to give us perspective on how the enemy had been sowing the seeds to change the laws for many years prior to roe.
I should have known. I know very little of this Mr. Cronkite personally but it should have been a big tip-off that this man was a liberal with pro-abortion views when I saw how the media is making him out to be some big saint. It never fails. Does the media EVER make much of someone who is a conservative, who has REALLY done some good in the world? Ever?
The endless parade of liberals, pro-aborts, neo-marxists and spoiled celebrities is tiring sometimes. Who gave them the idea of what a real “hero” is? Blah.
“Does the media EVER make much of someone who is a conservative, who has REALLY done some good in the world? Ever?”
I’m sure they would if it happens..
What a great, thorough reporter! He really knows his made up facts! 1 million times a year illegal abortions were committed! pulease! he knows the truth now, believe me!
“What a great, thorough reporter! He really knows his made up facts! 1 million times a year illegal abortions were committed! pulease! he knows the truth now, believe me!”
Posted by: Sydney M at July 23, 2009 10:03 AM
Abortion was legal in NY a few years before Roe. What a pall it must have cast over the city. I wonder how many of these women Cronkite knew personally. I believe one of the commenters on the video – Hauskneckt (sp?) opened the first abortion clinic at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
What a tarnish this was in his legacy as a journalist. I did not know this about Walter Cronkite. What a shame.
“Does the media EVER make much of someone who is a conservative, who has REALLY done some good in the world? Ever?”
I’m sure they would if it happens..
Posted by: Hal at July 23, 2009 9:44 AM
I’m reminded of the deaths of Mother Theresa and Princess Diana. I’m reminded of my dismay. No, I don’t believe they would. I don’t believe they do.
I have often wondered what sort of person Alan Guttmacher was (is?). After hearing him say “bastard”, I know everything I need to about him.