ABC News Publishes, Quickly Removes Lefty Mother Jones Article on GOP 'Redefining Rape'

ABCNews.com on Monday republished, then removed an article from Mother Jones magazine on Republicans "redefining rape." The piece briefly appeared on the network's website with no explanation that it was by the associate editor of the liberal magazine.

The article, by Nick Baumann, featured both the incendiary headline from Mother Jones, "The House GOP's Plan to Redefine Rape" and the nasty sub-headline: "Drugged, raped, and pregnant? Too bad. Republicans are pushing to limit rape and incest cases eligible for government abortion funding."

Unlike CBSNews.com, which has an opinion and analysis section, this article received no label. One could easily assume Baumann was simply an ABC News journalist.

In the piece, Baumann, attacked the "anti-choice" Republicans:

Rape is only really rape if it involves force. So says the new House Republican majority as it now moves to change abortion law.

For years, federal laws restricting the use of government funds to pay for abortions have included exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. (Another exemption covers pregnancies that could endanger the life of the woman.) But the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," a bill with 173 mostly Republican co-sponsors that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has dubbed a top priority in the new Congress, contains a provision that would rewrite the rules to limit drastically the definition of rape and incest in these cases.

The only experts cited in the article are those attacking congressional Republicans, including Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. That would be fine, of course, had the article not been featured on ABCNews.com (or had it been identified as commentary).

National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez created a screenshot of the (now gone) ABC News article and the Mother Jones original. (See above.)

- Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.