MEDIA WINNER:
The Grio's Sophia Nelson
& CNN's Alice Stewart TheGrio contributing editor Sophia Nelson argued against overturning Roe v. Wade with fellow conservative and CNN contributor Alice Stewart using a variety of points. On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN’s New Day, anchor Brianna Keilar hosted the two conservative women — both of whom describe themselves as “pro-life” — to debate the draft Supreme Court opinion on Roe v Wade. It was a polite and measured conversation, notably so given the context. Stewart founded her argument on making it a "state-level" issue, and argued that overturning Roe is not the same thing as an abortion ban. Nelson's argument was that a person can be "pro-life and pro-liberty" and still oppose overturning such an important, precedent-setting decision. She also called out "some hypocrisy going on" when it comes to the right and bodily autonomy, citing mask debates. Both arguments, however, rested on the question of the constitutional law, and Nelson rebutted Stewart's praise for originalism with a powerful historical argument. "There’s a whole lot of words that aren’t in the Constitution. If I were back 200 plus years ago, I’d be 3/5 of a person. Thank God the Constitution lives, breathes and expands, and grows with the times," she said. It was an illuminating discussion and nothing like the "rage and interrupt" format for which cable news is often criticized and lampooned. In fact, it was great TV. The credit goes to the two conservatives for their thoughtful debate, and also to Brianna Keilar, for an excellent and well-handled segment on such a polarizing topic. | 