Print reports ignore tension between McCain’s assertion that human rights begin at conception and support for stem cell research

August 22, 2008

The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post all reported Sen. John McCain’s assertion at a forum hosted by Pastor Rick Warren that he believes “a baby [is] entitled to human rights” “[a]t the moment of conception.” But none of the articles raised the question of how McCain reconciles this statement with his support for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and certain exceptions to a ban on abortion. (Media Matters)