How to clarify the abortion issue

What kind of issue is abortion? President Trump has ruffled feathers within the pro-life movement by insisting it is pretty much a states right issue. Last month, his campaign issued a statement clarifying his position:

“President Donald J. Trump believes that the Supreme Court, led by the three justices which he supported, got it right when they ruled this is an issue that should be decided at the state level.”

Although Mr. Trump deserves recognition as the most pro-life president in history due to his court appointments, his new position on abortion departs from the understanding within the movement that abortion is in fact, a human rights issue, not JUST a states right issue.

Or as the Family Leader’s Bob Vander Plaats puts it, abortion is a “right and wrong issue …” regardless of the laws of the state.

Trump rebuked

The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life American, Marjorie Dannenfelser,  issued a sharp correction to Mr. Trump:

“President Trump’s assertion that the Supreme Court returned the issue of abortion solely to the states is a completely inaccurate reading of the Dobbs decision and is a morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate to hold.” [Her] group “will oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard to stop painful late-term abortions while allowing states to enact further protections.”

Sadly, the Democratic Party’s leadership is adamant that abortion should NEVER be restricted or regulated, at either the state or national level, even though rank and file Democrats by and large DO believe in restrictions on abortion.

Democrats avoid the messy details of abortion

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe with the Dobbs decision last year, the Democratic Party conducted a series of surveys on the issue. They learned it is in their best interest to avoid details and argue that Republicans supported a national ban.

Celinda Lake, one of the Democrats’ pollsters, explained:

“Debating weeks is not where we want to be. People are terrible at math and terrible at biology.”

Democrats WANT Republicans to debate the weeks. It distracts from their own extreme position that allows abortion of a fully-formed fetus at 9 months.

Former President Donald Trump played into Democrat’s hands when he characterized Florida’s Heartbeat Bill, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, as “too harsh.”

Trump’s reaction was a swipe at the Governor, who will be forced to defend it on the national stage to the delight of zealous abortion defenders.

Don’t take the bait

DeSantis shouldn’t take the bait. Obviously, the Heartbeat Bill is just, moral, and defensible. But defending the bill forces him to remain on defense, when he is more effective on offense (as is any politician).

So when Mr. Trump … or President Joe Biden, challenges him that his Heartbeat bill is ‘too harsh,’ De Santis should be teed up ready to go on offense:

“Mr. President, it’s never ‘too harsh’ to pass and enforce a law that protects an innocent person with a beating, human heart.

Abortion is a human rights issue, because each abortion kills an innocent human being.

Each abortion undermines our nation’s Creed that proclaims God-given rights of LIFE, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

And each abortion reminds us that abortion isn’t JUST a states rights issue, just as slavery wasn’t JUST a states rights issue, as the Democratic Party maintained in a tragic, earlier chapter in our nation’s history.

Both issues are human rights issues. End of story.”

And if an opponent tries to make a case that the unborn isn’t a ‘person,’ the rebuttal is straight forward:

“All I know is that is that it takes a human father and a human mother to make a human baby. Until you prove to me beyond a reasonable doubt that the thriving unborn baby in the womb isn’t a human being, I will continue to stand up for her human rights.”

So to clarify the abortion issue in the political arena, pro-life candidates should focus on:

• The extremism of the other side’s positions.
• That abortion is a human right’s issue.
• And it’s a human rights issue, because the unborn are biological human beings.

End of story.