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Sharon Stone discusses abortion at 18 on Michelle Obama's podcast; conservatives criticise remarks

Actress Sharon Stone told Michelle Obama's "IMO" podcast about a secret abortion at 18 and said men who got pregnant could get abortions "from a vending machine". Anti-abortion groups and commentator Joe Concha criticised the remarks.

2 outlets · 0L · 0C · 2R First reported Account updated
Image: Fox News
Image: Washington Examiner

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The story, neutrally told

Right · 1Actress Sharon Stone, 68, said on Michelle Obama's "IMO" podcast that she had a secret abortion at 18, according to Fox News. Right · 1Stone said she had little sexual experience at the time and that the man involved had no information that she should use birth control; she said she "could have been the girl who gave birth in the bathroom stall." Right · 2She criticised people who she said do not want to "give women care" and who want to prosecute women for miscarriages, and added: "If men got pregnant, you could get an abortion from a vending machine."

Right · 2Obama laughed and said there would be a "birth Olympics" in that case, with men filming their labour, "honoring their pain" and receiving trophies. Right · 1Fox News said it asked Stone's representative for comment; its article does not report a reply. Right · 1Laura Echevarria of National Right to Life said abortion "ends the life of an unborn child" and that the vending machine remark "trivializes both women and their children."

Right · 1Kelsey Pritchard of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America called the remarks "cynical man-bashing" and said Democrats cannot defend an "abortion-on-demand agenda". Right · 1On Fox News's "Saturday in America", Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha criticised the podcast, saying the exchange was "not even remotely accurate" and that Stone and Obama were complaining about abortion access despite Stone's own abortion. Right · 1Concha said the number of abortions has increased since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, though he called that "not a good thing"; the article gives no source for the figure.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right2 outlets

Framing
Both outlets present the podcast exchange as a target for criticism: Fox News leads with Stone's quotes and anti-abortion groups' rebukes; the Washington Examiner reports a Concha opinion segment mocking the podcast.
Emphasis
The 'vending machine' and 'birth Olympics' remarks, reactions from pro-life groups, and Concha's argument that Stone's own history undercuts her point.
Leaves out or plays down
Neither reports a response from Stone or Obama, or abortion-rights groups' views; Concha's claim about rising abortion numbers is not sourced.
Charged language
“trashes”“blasted”“fiery exchange”“cynical man-bashing”
For example
“sparking a fiery exchange about women's health care access” — Fox News
“Joe Concha trashes Michelle Obama’s podcast discussing men getting pregnant” — Washington Examiner