L.A. Times Abortion Coverage Flawed, Editor Says
By Stuart Shepard, correspondent for Family News in Focus

SUMMARY: A shocking -- but welcome -- memo by the editor of the L.A. Times points out the liberal bias in his own paper.

There are new, scathing accusations of front-page liberal bias involving a major U.S. newspaper. But this time, the claims are from the editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles
Times -- concerning his own paper.

In an internal memo, Los Angeles Times Editor John Carroll criticized a recent front-page story about a Texas bill requiring abortionists to counsel patients about the risk
of breast cancer. The reporter wrote about the "so-called counseling of patients." Carroll called that a "phrase loaded with derision." The reporter also labeled a sponsor
of the bill as having a "professional background in property management." Carroll wrote: "Seldom will you read a cheaper shot than that."

Bob Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute and a former editor at the L.A. Times, said the memo is a pleasant surprise, given the paper's history on reporting
the pro-life issue.

"This is a breath of fresh air for the L.A. Times, and I would hope it would set a standard for the whole industry," Knight said. "I wish a memo like this had been written when I was an editor (there) during the 1980s. The kind of liberal bias that Mr. Carroll decries happened every day."

The Times article did quote Dr. Joel Brind, a professor of biology and endocrinology at Baruch College of the City University of N.Y. (CUNY).

"What they didn't do, was say anything about why I thought the abortion/breast cancer connection had scientific merit," Brind said. "They just mentioned that I was pro-life."

Brind, who did pioneering research on the abortion/breast cancer link that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the British Medical Journal, said he was
happy not to be labeled an "anti-abortion activist."

"They'll really color it so that one could ascribe no credibility to my views at all," Brind said. "So the article was, for such as the L.A. Times, about as good as it ever gets."

The Times, which confirmed the memo, had no other comment.

One source said the memo was not well received by many of the staff, and is causing quite a buzz in the newsroom. Brind said there has been no follow-up, and no one has called him for another interview.

John Carroll's memo called for his newspaper to be "intelligent and fair-minded" -- showing respect for people on both sides of debates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Focus on the Family has produced a research paper that outlines the complications associated with abortion: "Abortion Complications," by Carrie Gordon Earll, Focus on the Family bioethics analyst:
http://www.family.org/cforum/research/papers/a0001039.html