Untangling Ron DeSantis’ debate anecdote about an improbable abortion survival story

When the topic of abortion came up during the first Republican primary presidential debate this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shared a perplexing anecdote about a woman he’d met who he said had survived the procedure. “I know a lady in Florida named Penny,” DeSantis said. “She survived multiple abortion attempts. She was left discarded in a pan. Fortunately, her grandmother saved her and brought her to a different hospital.” Some accused the governor of fabricating the story. “Let me see if I understand this correctly. Doctors tried to abort ‘Penny’ multiple times and discarded her in a pan,...