The Wall Street Journal published Thursday’s morning edition of an article EditorialRecognizing the authenticity of the viral story about the 10-year-old victim of rape who went to Indiana for an abortion, we acknowledge its accuracy. questioningThis week, the story’s legitimacy was confirmed. “There’s no evidence the girl exists,” Tuesday’s editorial read.
However, Gerson Fuentes was taken into police custody by Columbus on Wednesday for sexual assault. He was later charged with rape in first degree.
After popping up on social media, the case garnered national attention last week when President Biden cited the story as he signed an executive order on abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Biden claimed that the victim was forced from Ohio to travel to Indiana after her home state banned abortions when a fetal pulse is present.
In Tuesday’s editorial, the outlet described the situation as a “fanciful tale”Receiving a “hearing at the White House.”
This set off a media firestorm of criticism of conservative media – and, as it happens, the Washington Post who did a “fact check” column on the reporting – for smearing a child who was undergoing trauma and casting doubt without evidence. The original source of the report was actually the doctor who had treated the girl and was also on record.
“The country needs to find a rough consensus on abortion now that it has returned to the states and the political process,” Thursday’s editorial reads. “One way to help is to make sure that stories about abortion, from either side of the debate, can be readily confirmed. Passions are already heated enough.”
