Trump abortion comments outrage even antiabortion groups

Given Donald Trump’s unyielding support among his voters, it’s hard to tell how much his abortion comment might affect him. But it’s not being received well.

|
Willis Glassgow/AP
In this Nov. 24, 2015, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The list of prominent evangelicals denouncing Trump is growing, but is anyone in the flock listening? The bloc of voters powering the real estate mogul through the Republican primaries is significantly weighted with white born-again Christians. As Trump’s ascendancy forces the GOP establishment to confront how it lost touch with so many conservative voters, top evangelicals are facing their own dark night, wondering what has drawn so many Christians to a twice-divorced, profane casino magnate with a muddled record on abortion and gay marriage.

During the taping of an MSNBC town hall event in Wisconsin Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said women who receive abortions should be subject to “some form of punishment” if the procedure became illegal.

Everyone, from Democrats to Republicans, and pro-life advocates to pro-choice advocates, has sounded off on Mr. Trump’s comments. 

There isn’t data on how Americans feel about women being punished for having abortion procedures. According to a 2015 Gallup poll, 19 percent of Americans believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances and 29 percent believe it should be legal under any circumstances. The majority – 51 percent of Americans – believes that abortion should be legal, but only under certain circumstances.

And while only 28 percent of all Republicans say abortion should be legal in “all or most cases,” the number is 55 percent for moderate Republicans, according to a September 2015 Pew Research poll. A Gallup poll suggests that the socially and economically conservative wing of the party is at its lowest level since 2005.

 The Republican National Committee has already noted that the party has a “women problem.” 

“Our inability to win their votes is losing us elections,” the RNC wrote after women favored President Obama by 11 points over GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012.

Trump is poised to do even worse than Romney with women in the general election. According to recent polls, his negative ratings are more than 70 percent among women. Since July 2015, both Republican women and all US women collectively have viewed Trump far more unfavorably than their male counterparts.

The criticism of Trump has been widespread, not only from abortion-rights activists, but even antiabortion groups.

“Mr. Trump’s comment today is completely out of touch with the pro-life movement and even more with women who have chosen such a sad thing as abortion,” Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, said in a press release. “Being pro-life means wanting what is best for the mother and the baby… No pro-lifer would ever want to punish a woman who has chosen abortion. This is against the very nature of what we are about.”

Trump’s Democratic opponents were quick to respond: 

And from Ted Cruz’s Rapid Response Director:

“Of course women shouldn’t be punished,” added fellow Republican presidential candidate John Kasich. “I don’t think that’s an appropriate response. It’s a difficult enough situation.”

Trump issued a statement several hours after his shocking assertion, changing his position while saying his position has not changed.

If abortion became illegal, “the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the women,” Trump said. “The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed – like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions.” 

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Trump abortion comments outrage even antiabortion groups
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0331/Trump-abortion-comments-outrage-even-antiabortion-groups
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe