When now-President Donald Trump agreed to speak at a conference hosted by a group that opposes abortion under all circumstances, President Joe Biden’s campaign viewed the appearance as a sign of Trump’s extremism on the issue. evidence. But in a brief speech Monday at the Danbury Institute Forum on Life and Liberty in Indianapolis, Trump did not explicitly mention abortion at all, even as he paid lip service to the value of “innocent life.”
The incident reflects the dilemma facing Trump as he tries to retain the support of anti-abortion activists without alienating voters who reject the hard-line stance of groups like the Danbury Institute. Trump has offered a vague middle ground more in line with public opinion, even as he touts his role in bringing down the president Roe v. Wade and describes himself as “the most anti-abortion president in American history.”
The Danbury Institute’s understanding of “pro-life” is clear. “The greatest atrocity our generation faces today is the practice of abortion – the sacrifice of children on the altar of self,” it declared. “Abortion must end. We will not rest until it is eradicated.”
The group strongly opposes the exceptions backed by Trump. “Abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of the mother,” the report states, adding that “aborting an innocent child conceived as a result of rape or incest only exacerbates the injustice and suffering caused by the original crime.
Whatever their moral logic, these views are deeply unpopular, even among Republicans. According to recent polls, voters dissatisfied with current abortion policies overwhelmingly say they are too restrictive, while 63% of Americans believe “abortion should be legal in all or most cases.”
The latter view may be consistent with a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, since approximately 96% of abortions are performed before that cutoff date. But Trump reconsidered the idea after raising the possibility of a 15-week federal ban.
Trump now says abortion regulation should be left to the states, echoing federalist criticism of abortion. roe. By contrast, Biden supports national legislation that would roerestrictions without much regard for the constitutional reasons for overriding state legislators in this area.
roe Often described as recognizing the right to abortion until the fetus is “viable,” fetal “viability” is now said to occur around 24 weeks. but roe and their descendants also demand that post-viability abortion be allowed when the pregnancy “endangers the life of the woman” or health“—A potential blanket exception, so to speak, would require “abortion for all pregnant women.”
This broad interpretation of the health exception is the basis for Trump’s accusation that Democrats are “completely out of touch with the majority of Americans in their support of abortion up to birth.” However, in addition to rejecting abortion on demand, Trump has been cautious about which restrictions he supports.
Trump said the “heartbeat” laws, which are implemented around six weeks into pregnancy and exclude most abortions, are “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” But Trump’s perceived wrongdoing appears to be more political than moral.
After the Republican Party’s disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm elections, Trump complained that the party’s candidates “lost a large number of voters” because they “handled the abortion issue poorly”, especially when they “resolutely insist on no exceptions” . When Trump helped eliminate this election liability by embracing a broad range of national policies, Republican politicians who shared Trump’s concerns breathed a sigh of relief.
While Trump’s federalist approach has a solid constitutional foundation, his apparent agnosticism about how abortion should be regulated suggests he has no firm convictions on the issue. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony USA’s anti-abortion group, is “deeply disappointed” with Trump’s stance, while Live Action founder Lila Rose flatly declared that “President Trump Not a pro-life candidate.”
Trump is betting that when push comes to shove, these critics will abandon their reservations and support the man who made sure of it. roe‘s demise. But as his triangulation shows, this victory is just the beginning of the fight to convince Americans that abortion must end.
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