This goes hand in hand with what the Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs case: that it is not a federal issue, it’s a 10th Amendment issue
Trump says abortion is up to the states, declines to endorse national limit
Former President Donald Trump on Monday said abortion should be left to the states in the post-Roe era, declining to endorse any national limit on the procedure.
His announcement, shared on Truth Social, is likely to disappoint anti-abortion groups who hoped he would use his bully pulpit to endorse national restrictions on abortion, especially after his campaign floated a 15-week ban earlier this year. Trump instead said that it was “up to the states to do the right thing” on abortion, painting Democrats as “radical” on the issue.
“The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” Trump said. “Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will [be] more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people.”
The announcement highlights Trump’s recognition that abortion has dogged Republicans on the campaign trail since the fall of Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago — and his primary goal of winning the 2024 election. He has chided other Republicans for speaking “inaccurately” on abortion, intimating that severe restrictions have cost the GOP winnable elections. On Sunday night and again Monday morning he urged people to “follow their heart” or their religion but encouraged voters to remember the stakes.
Political or not, abortion decisions belong in the states. I know many will disagree with me, but, Congress should not be banning or approving abortion for the nation. While I’d certainly be in favor of European styled laws with bans around 15 weeks, it is not a federal issue (excepting where the US government should not be spending taxpayer money on abortions). Things that are not specifically mentioned as a Congressional duty must be left to states and The People.
Trump’s position has made many upset
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, in a statement to POLITICO reiterated the group’s commitment to “defeat President Biden” and congressional Democrats, but condemned Trump’s decision.
Trump also got into a spat with Lindsay Graham. And
(Politico) In the end, Trump couldn’t get past the feeling that it was a loser with voters. It is a lesson he learned through hard political experience — most importantly in the 2022 elections.
For years, at a gut level, the former president has feared the backlash he might face for taking a hard-line position on abortion. And despite his attempt to fog up the issue with his new, state-based stance, Trump is still likely to pay a price with voters for appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. And his decision not to endorse a ban has exposed deep fissures within his own party. After Graham released a statement Monday in which he said he “respectfully disagree[s]” with Trump’s position, Trump did not let it go, instead accusing Graham and Republicans like him of sinking the GOP.
And then there’s Biden
(Politico) President Joe Biden lashed out at Donald Trump’s announcement Monday that abortion should be left up to the states and warned of consequences should Trump win in November.
“No one trusts Donald Trump,” Biden said, pointing to how the former president made a “political deal” with the anti-abortion right.
The president went on to say that his predecessor’s lack of endorsement for a national ban was an illusion. “If they put one on his desk, he said he’d sign it.”
Biden made his remarks during a high-end fundraiser in Chicago featuring about 50 friends and donors, including Bill Daley, former chief of staff to President Barack Obama.
Blah blah blah. These are the same people who push abortion as contraception, and are happy to make sure that blacks are aborting their babies at higher rates than any other group. Anyhow, Trump’s position may not be the moral position, but, it is the correct Constitution position. I mostly do not get involved in this issue except as a political position, and I agree with Trump.
Read: Trump Releases Sensible, Constitutional Abortion Position »