Does Donald Trump want to make abortion gettable again?

By Ryan Bomberger, originally published April 11, 2024, The Christian Post

In a contradictory and capitulating speech on abortion, presidential candidate Donald Trump retreated from his pro-life position and policies during his time as president. While he highlights how President Joe Biden, and the Democratic Party, are absolutely extreme on abortion — pushing for unsafe, unregulated, and unrestricted abortions throughout the entire pregnancy — it seems that he has been fearing what the Left is cheering. Women and children deserve so much better. Trump’s poll-driven approach only diminishes his former resolve and successes, namely overturning Roe v. Wade, in protecting the most vulnerable human lives.

This comes on the heels of Trump suggesting last month in a WABC radio show, that he may push a federal ban after 15 weeks gestation. It’s easy to push policy without clarity. What if Trump explained that 96% of abortions are carried out by 15 weeks, according to the CDC. So, in essence, it wouldn’t save the vast majority of the million lives killed via abortion each year in America. That’s not a conviction. That’s capitulation. What makes an elective abortion morally wrong is that it kills an unborn innocent human life. Adding a timeframe onto that doesn’t ameliorate the wrongness of it. Imagine if slavery were allowed up to 15 weeks. Or maybe we allow hard-core drug usage (you know, “my body my choice”), but just up to 15 weeks. Then, put that magical ban into place that pretends to protect life.

Funny how those, like Trump, who once stood on high moral ground regarding abortion, choose instead to position themselves in the sinking sand of politics. Chattel slavery was once popular. Jim Crow was once popular. Anti-miscegenation laws were once popular (crazy to think my marriage was illegal here in Virginia not so long ago). Voter disenfranchisement, based on gender or color, was once popular. Thankfully, all of those injustices sank into oblivion.

In his Truth Social speech, Trump calls for IVF access in all 50 states. His full support of IVF either shows he doesn’t understand the process, which requires the deliberate destruction of many human embryos, or seems to think killing multiple human beings to create a successful pregnancy is morally acceptable. He proclaims: “The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life … IVF is an important part of that.”

What’s the ethical difference between deliberately killing human life at an IVF clinic versus at an abortion mill? Being on the side of the miracle of life should mean never deliberately allowing that miracle to be destroyed whether through IVF or abortion.

Trump falsely claimed that the “vast majority of Republicans, Conservative, Christians, Pro-life Americans … strongly support the availability of IVF.” A recent CBS/YouGov Poll, did find, without offering any clarifying information about IVF, that 86% of Americans support IVF. (I would suggest that a vast majority of people don’t even know what actually happens during IVF.) An Axios/Ipsos poll, though, found that 49% of Republicans supported “considering frozen embryos as people and holding those who destroy them legally responsible.” Most of the Pro-Life movement does not support IVF.

Polls are a terrible way to decide morality. Politicians may depend on them, but principled people shouldn’t. The right to life should no more be a poll-driven issue than slavery, domestic violence, racism, or the right to vote. Slavery was left to individual states. That didn’t go well. Racism was left to states. That didn’t go well. Women’s right to vote was left to states. That didn’t go well. And with the massive amount pro-abortion funded ballot initiatives, aided by equally massive mainstream media misinformation, the most fundamental right — life — is not going well in too many state battles. (See this current example of monstrously disproportionate funding in Florida’s upcoming abortion ballot initiative.)

“Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights,” Trump explained in the video. The fact that he is embracing the false label of “abortion rights” speaks volumes. Should we talk about “domestic abuse rights”? Or “theft rights”? Or “pronoun rights”? “This 50-year battle over Roe v Wade took it out of the federal hands and put it into the hearts, minds, and votes of the people in each state. It was really something. Now it’s up to the states to do the right thing. Like Ronald Reagan, I’m strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. You must follow your heart on this issue, but remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, save our country which is currently and very sadly a nation in decline,” Trump continued.

In an earlier post over the weekend, Trump posted his support of exceptions, strangely stating: “Great love and compassion must be shown when even thinking about the subject of LIFE, but at the same time we must use common sense in realizing that we have an obligation to the salvation of our Nation, which is currently in serious DECLINE, TO WIN ELECTIONS, without which we will have nothing other than failure, death, and destruction. We will not let that happen. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”

The “salvation of our Nation” depends on exploiting the one percent of abortions? (States that ban the violence of abortion — which is death and destruction — already have exceptions to save the physical life of the mother.) I was conceived in rape. The great love and compassion that I was shown by my birthmother and parents came in the form of adoption. So, Donald Trump, lives with origin stories like mine should die to #MakeAmericaGreatAgain? No thanks.

The failure here is to fall into the Democratic Party’s predictable snares of fear. Pro-life Americans must strive to boldly educate, influence, and draw our political allies and the public away from the political quicksand.

The strength of our nation is not in how we avoid difficult circumstances by destroying the weak and vulnerable. The strength of our nation is in how we overcome difficult circumstances by defending the weak and vulnerable.

Ryan Bomberger is the Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of The Radiance Foundation.