Anti-Abortion Politicians Are Now Taking Inspiration From the Fugitive Slave Act

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 mandated the seizure and return of Black people who had been enslaved, or were simply suspected of being enslaved, to their so-called masters, even if those Black people made it to a free state. It denied those Black people the opportunity to have a jury trial, and empowered federal marshals to return enslaved people to the South without due process.

The act was a vile repudiation of the very concept of freedom, but its thrust was nothing new. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was...