Many in the pro-life crowd said, post-Dobbs, the hard part was just beginning. By overturning Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion was turned back to the states and, with it, the state legislatures and the voters who elect them.
Make no mistake: Roe was terrible case law and should have been overturned a long time ago. There is no right to abortion, and the federal government should have no say in the issue.
And make no mistake: I am unequivocally against abortion. I do not think there should be exceptions for rape, incest, or in the cases of fetal abnormality or life of the mother (most of those maladies can be treated by delivering, not aborting, the baby). If one believes an unborn child is a separate human being deserving of life, from the moment of conception (as I do), to make those exceptions is logically inconsistent. They are also statistically small: the overwhelming majority of abortions are done simply as an alternative form of birth control.
But I also recognize that I am in the minority on this issue. A majority of Americans support those aforementioned exceptions, and bans starting around the second trimester, and with other limits, are the norm in most of the world. Only a handful of countries, the United States among them, are as permissive in abortion as they are.
The Left loves to say pro-lifers are 'extreme' on the issue. Especially pro-lifers like me.
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We are not.
What's extreme is the Left's push for unfettered, unrestricted abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Up to and including after birth, where -- as former VA governor Ralph Northam said -- the "infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."
A baby. A born baby, who may have 'deformities' or be 'non-viable' (in the third trimester and after birth?), and the Democrat party is gung-ho about a 'discussion' to end the baby's life. The Left gets very mad when you point out they support this, but they do. Without question.
As he runs for a second term as president, Donald Trump -- who, rightly, brags about ending Roe -- released this video, and we reported on how this is somehow 'authoritarian' (it's not) and Keith Olbermann had another meltdown about it.
Here's what Trump said:
President Trump says States should have the final say on abortion and abortion rights.
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 8, 2024
Trump's statement likely means he won't support a national ban.
"Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks." pic.twitter.com/3yhVjwDNPH
For Trump, it's a thoughtful and nuanced response to the issue.
One that stands in stark contrast to 'devout Catholic' Joe Biden -- who wants abortions throughout all three trimesters.
I don't agree with the exceptions, but Trump is reading the political room.
And this is where the pro-life movement has a lot of work to do, and a decision to make.
The choice is clear: in 2024, we get Trump and his wrong, but popular, exceptions to abortion or we get Biden and his extreme, unfettered support of abortion.
No, it's not a desirable choice. I hate that we have to select the lesser of two evils sometimes.
But sometimes we do.
I'm on the fence about voting for Trump. I don't particularly like him, was not happy with how he handled COVID. But I also acknowledge I could afford gas and groceries when he was president. Some days, I get p***ed off at the Left's lawfare against him, and resolve to vote for him as a giant F-you to the Left. Other days, he says and does things that turn me off and make me consider voting for a third party, as I did in 2016.
I also recognize that we will likely get a boatload of pro-abortion legislation -- not to mention leftwing SCOTUS justices -- if Biden is re-elected in November, and the Democrats get majorities in the House and Senate. The Left never pumps the brakes when it comes to their agenda. It's pedal to the floor when they want to push the issues they hold near and dear.
It’s weird how Donald Trump is echoing the promise we conservatives made when moving to overrule Roe, which was to send the issue back to the states. That’s what we promised to do. I don’t understand why people think we should not do what we said we were going to do. https://t.co/vCv02b9v7r
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) April 8, 2024
Because Trump can do no right, according to the Left. He could come out for abortion-on-demand, and they'd point out how he's a hypocrite. But on that part, Trump is right. It's a state issue.
I’m not saying we should reject these proposals; we should embrace them. Getting 80% of what we want now is better than getting 0%, especially when the alternative is unrestricted abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.
Undoing that work would be even harder than starting at a compromise that reduces abortion to the small percentage of abortions that fall under the rape/incest exceptions. I reiterate: I oppose all abortion. But I also know that — right now — is a politically losing position.
And that's where the work of the pro-life movement has to begin. It's not enough to simply say we should ban abortion. We have to make motherhood more appealing than abortion. And we have to win elections.
We don't do that when certain conservatives make motherhood seem miserable ("You can't go out or have a life when you have a baby!"), or chide fathers for being involved with the care of their infants (yes, men, you can change diapers and still be masculine). We don't do that by elevating voices that shame single, divorced, or widowed mothers and their children as less deserving of a good man. We don't do that by opposing assistance for mothers, families, and children. That doesn't have to be endless welfare. It can be private programs that provide support, working to prevent legislation that damages the gig economy (something mothers rely on for income), pushing for tax incentives, and creating a culture that values children, mothers, and families.
The only way abortion is finally a thing of the past is to change hearts and minds on the issue. That will not happen overnight, and it cannot happen in a vacuum. Legislative victories at the state and federal level are necessary and -- while unappealing -- may require some political trade offs for long-term gains.
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