By Gerald Yeung
A considerable amount of time was spent on the topic of abortion (aka feticide) by Presidents Biden and Trump during the CNN Presidential Debate on June 27, 2024. From the moment the sparks started flying, many commenters have “fact checked” what was said and alleged regarding abortion. In this brief article, I will add my personal take and evaluate whether and to what extent abortion policy differs between the two candidates.
The Abortion Pill
Early on, Trump revealed his position on chemical abortions, an announcement that he had teased for weeks prior to the debate. He said that "the Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill,” that he agreed with the decision and would not block abortion medication. This statement was disappointing but not surprising, given Trump’s recent role in restoring first trimester abortion in Arizona and his past criticism of the Heartbeat Protection Act in Florida. Abortion medication is approved for use by the FDA through ten weeks of gestation, and now accounts for the majority of abortions in the US.
Returning Abortion to the States
Trump took credit for the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, saying that “everybody, without exception,” wanted to return the issue to the states. If that were true, why has there been so much contention over Roe v. Wade in the first instance? Yes it is true that even the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has offered a scathing critique of Roe. However, Trump's assertion that everyone wanted its demise is seriously disconnected from reality, and Biden called him out on it.
It is debatable whether the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade actually did return the issue of abortion to the states. Wrote Justice Samuel Alito in the majority opinion, “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” This does not preclude representatives elected to the fed-eral government.
After all, a fundamental human right, like freedom from slavery, should be respected in all states, not just some. As Biden put it, "The idea that states are able to do this is a little like saying, we’re going to turn civil rights back to the states, let each state have a different rule.” But to be fair, there are potentially serious impediments to enacting abortion legislation at the federal level. Any future federal abortion law would certainly face substantial scrutiny under the Tenth Amendment, which delegates certain enumerated powers to the federal government and leaves the rest to the states.
There are some who point to pre-emption of state law by the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life without due process of law, nor denied equal protection under the law. However, it is far from clear whether the Supreme Court will recognize the personhood of the unborn, and thus application of the Fourteenth Amendment, any time soon. Indeed, shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case out of Rhode Island that was designed to evoke a ruling on the issue of personhood.
Nevertheless, subsequent commentary from some of the Justices during oral arguments on abortion-related cases suggests that they may be positioning themselves to eventually take up personhood. Further, recent rulings from State Supreme Courts like Alabama’s may provide anti-abortion advocates the ammunition to force the issue at the US Supreme Court.
With all the above being said, Trump appears to have washed his hands of advocating for life protections at the federal level in a potential second term by returning to the issue to the states.
Exceptions
Trump reiterated his support of the “exceptions" - rape, incest, and life of the mother. From a pro-life perspective, this is deeply problematic. As a matter of principle, there are no exceptions to the unborn child’s right to life. The innocent child conceived in rape or incest is not the one who should be punished. Abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of the mother. Preterm deliveries and treatment of medical conditions like ectopic pregnancies, while they may result in the loss of the child, are not abortions.
A human life, no matter how short, should be cherished as a gift. As a practical matter, a pro-life law that has exceptions is better than no law at all. However, Trump embraces the exceptions up front, and that is morally unacceptable.
Late-Term Abortion
Despite Biden’s efforts to deny it, Trump rightly pointed out that the Democrats support late-term abortion. Biden and the Democrats support Roe v. Wade, whose broad health exception, confirmed in Doe v. Bolton, allowed abortion up until the moment of birth for virtually any reason.
Trump also mentioned Virginia Governor Northam’s dismissal of concerns about babies born alive after attempted abortions. Indeed, Democrats have consistently opposed the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, despite ample evidence of babies born alive being killed or left to die.
Conclusion
Biden supports abortion, for virtually any reason, up until the moment of birth. His Party’s obsession with abortion on demand prevents him from supporting even basic protections for infants who survive failed abortion attempts.
Trump would allow some restrictions on abortion, but they would only save a small percentage of babies from being killed before birth.
Both candidates fully support the morally problematic IVF procedure, which was not mentioned at all during the debate.
Despite rhetoric on both sides that signals stark policy differences on abortion, the truth is that there is not much practical daylight between Trump and Biden on this fundamental issue.
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Gerald Yeung is the former chairman of Westchester-Putnam Right to Life Political Action Committee. Reprinted with permission.
A considerable amount of time was spent on the topic of abortion (aka feticide) by Presidents Biden and Trump during the CNN Presidential Debate on June 27, 2024. From the moment the sparks started flying, many commenters have “fact checked” what was said and alleged regarding abortion. In this brief article, I will add my personal take and evaluate whether and to what extent abortion policy differs between the two candidates.
The Abortion Pill
Early on, Trump revealed his position on chemical abortions, an announcement that he had teased for weeks prior to the debate. He said that "the Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill,” that he agreed with the decision and would not block abortion medication. This statement was disappointing but not surprising, given Trump’s recent role in restoring first trimester abortion in Arizona and his past criticism of the Heartbeat Protection Act in Florida. Abortion medication is approved for use by the FDA through ten weeks of gestation, and now accounts for the majority of abortions in the US.
Returning Abortion to the States
Trump took credit for the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, saying that “everybody, without exception,” wanted to return the issue to the states. If that were true, why has there been so much contention over Roe v. Wade in the first instance? Yes it is true that even the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has offered a scathing critique of Roe. However, Trump's assertion that everyone wanted its demise is seriously disconnected from reality, and Biden called him out on it.
It is debatable whether the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade actually did return the issue of abortion to the states. Wrote Justice Samuel Alito in the majority opinion, “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” This does not preclude representatives elected to the fed-eral government.
After all, a fundamental human right, like freedom from slavery, should be respected in all states, not just some. As Biden put it, "The idea that states are able to do this is a little like saying, we’re going to turn civil rights back to the states, let each state have a different rule.” But to be fair, there are potentially serious impediments to enacting abortion legislation at the federal level. Any future federal abortion law would certainly face substantial scrutiny under the Tenth Amendment, which delegates certain enumerated powers to the federal government and leaves the rest to the states.
There are some who point to pre-emption of state law by the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life without due process of law, nor denied equal protection under the law. However, it is far from clear whether the Supreme Court will recognize the personhood of the unborn, and thus application of the Fourteenth Amendment, any time soon. Indeed, shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case out of Rhode Island that was designed to evoke a ruling on the issue of personhood.
Nevertheless, subsequent commentary from some of the Justices during oral arguments on abortion-related cases suggests that they may be positioning themselves to eventually take up personhood. Further, recent rulings from State Supreme Courts like Alabama’s may provide anti-abortion advocates the ammunition to force the issue at the US Supreme Court.
With all the above being said, Trump appears to have washed his hands of advocating for life protections at the federal level in a potential second term by returning to the issue to the states.
Exceptions
Trump reiterated his support of the “exceptions" - rape, incest, and life of the mother. From a pro-life perspective, this is deeply problematic. As a matter of principle, there are no exceptions to the unborn child’s right to life. The innocent child conceived in rape or incest is not the one who should be punished. Abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of the mother. Preterm deliveries and treatment of medical conditions like ectopic pregnancies, while they may result in the loss of the child, are not abortions.
A human life, no matter how short, should be cherished as a gift. As a practical matter, a pro-life law that has exceptions is better than no law at all. However, Trump embraces the exceptions up front, and that is morally unacceptable.
Late-Term Abortion
Despite Biden’s efforts to deny it, Trump rightly pointed out that the Democrats support late-term abortion. Biden and the Democrats support Roe v. Wade, whose broad health exception, confirmed in Doe v. Bolton, allowed abortion up until the moment of birth for virtually any reason.
Trump also mentioned Virginia Governor Northam’s dismissal of concerns about babies born alive after attempted abortions. Indeed, Democrats have consistently opposed the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, despite ample evidence of babies born alive being killed or left to die.
Conclusion
Biden supports abortion, for virtually any reason, up until the moment of birth. His Party’s obsession with abortion on demand prevents him from supporting even basic protections for infants who survive failed abortion attempts.
Trump would allow some restrictions on abortion, but they would only save a small percentage of babies from being killed before birth.
Both candidates fully support the morally problematic IVF procedure, which was not mentioned at all during the debate.
Despite rhetoric on both sides that signals stark policy differences on abortion, the truth is that there is not much practical daylight between Trump and Biden on this fundamental issue.
------
Gerald Yeung is the former chairman of Westchester-Putnam Right to Life Political Action Committee. Reprinted with permission.
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