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Lower the number of abortions in the US 0:40
Editor's Note: Terry Schilling is executive director of American Principles Project, a conservative nonprofit study center. You can follow him on Twitter at @ Schilling1776. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author.
(CNN) - On Friday, January 24, Donald Trump became the first president to speak in person during the March for Life organized in Washington. This is very important.
- READ ALSO: When Roe's ruling approaches 50, abortion is under attack
Every year, hundreds of thousands of anti-abortion activists gather in the capital of our nation to commemorate the anniversary of an erroneous decision issued by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade to demand political actions that protect the life of the unborn. Now, on its 47th anniversary, this mobilization has become the most important event of the movement against abortion.
Trump's historic appearance was a blessing to protesters, as he attracted more attention to the event and highlights the considerable political success of the anti-abortion movement in recent years. It also represents for him the opportunity to arrive with his message to many Americans who are undecided about abortion by drawing a contrast between the extreme positions of their 2020 Democratic rivals.
While supporters of the right to abortion love to cite data from surveys that show that the vast majority of Americans support the Roe vs. decision. Wade, the reality is that many citizens also reject the abortion regime at their own request (even in a late pregnancy stage, in some cases) created by that ruling.
A Gallup poll last year showed that a majority of Americans support abortion restrictions in an advanced pregnancy. Even so, in recent years, too many left-wing people seem to have abandoned any kind of moderate consensus on the subject, with the pragmatism of the "safe, legal and exceptional" in some cases, and even give in to the ideological purism of "telling their shouting abortion, ”presumably hoping that no one in the center of the US I noticed.
Unfortunately for the electoral hopes of the Democrats, the American people did notice, and the Republicans are taking political advantage. We saw an excellent example of that in 2016, when Trump emphasized Hillary Clinton's extreme stance on abortion in the third presidential debate: “If you are guided by what Hillary says, in the ninth month, you can take the baby and start the baby. of the uterus just before birth. Now, you can say that that's fine and Hillary can say that's fine, but not right for me. That is unacceptable. ”
At that time, Clinton said Trump used a "rhetoric of fear" (she had said in previous comments that she believed that mothers should be allowed to end a pregnancy at any time - until birth - if their lives are in danger). But just last year, the Democratic governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, gave rise to a heated controversy by supporting legislation that would decriminalize abortion until the 24th week of pregnancy (the week when a live birth could be viable) when the "life or health of the mother" is in danger or if the fetus could not survive outside the uterus.
That same extreme stance has been accepted by the Democratic Party and, no current Democratic candidate of 2020 - with the exception of Tulsi Gabbard - has indicated that he would support imposing abortion restrictions in an advanced state.
There is no doubt that all this extreme ideology may be popular among the most "awake" progressive activists on Twitter, but it certainly is not among many Americans. In fact, a new KFF survey found that half of Republicans believe that access to abortion for women is too easy.
As a candidate, Trump acknowledged the political wisdom of getting involved in this issue, and as president he has continued to highlight the Democrats for their positions on abortion. He has condemned Virginia Democratic governor Ralph Northam last year for his comments on a radio show about a bill that is in the Virginia House of Delegates, which some interpreted as supporting infanticide. (The spokesman for Northam said afterwards that his comments were intended to address "the tragic and highly unlikely case in which a woman has an unfeasible pregnancy or serious fetal abnormalities and begins labor.")
Even more important for protesters on Friday, Trump has obtained a number of achievements against abortion in his first presidency, such as enacting a law that allows states to deny funds to Planned Parenthood, and appoint right-wing judges to the Supreme Court. and, if re-elected, he promises to do even more in his second presidency.
Now that the final stretch of the presidential elections of 2020 is approaching, the March for Life has given Trump the perfect opportunity to put abortion as a determining issue in his campaign. He may point out that Democrats in 2020 argue less abortion restrictions and encourage taxpayer funds to go to women on Medicaid.
He can also call attention to Democrats in Congress who have repeatedly blocked legislation that would force doctors to urgently treat babies who survive an abortion. (His opponents say that one of the recent laws is unnecessary because there is a similar one: the Protection of Babies Born to Life Act of 2002.) All these contrasts should benefit him widely before voters, and even those who are not in its base that opposes abortion.
While the spectacle of the political trial of the Democrats fails, President Trump has positioned himself to attack them in what is perhaps their weakest foundation, revealing their true priorities for all American voters to see.
Abortion Laws
