Trump’s Abortion Hedge

First, the good news: Donald Trump’s Monday-morning statement on abortion reminded pro-lifers that he could turn up the rhetorical heat on Democrats on these issues, as he did in 2016 debates. “Democrats are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month,” he said, “the concept of having an abortion in the later months and even execution after birth.” He is right that Democrats almost uniformly oppose any legal protection for unborn children at any stage of pregnancy, and right as well that they have sometimes voted against protections even for children who survive attempted abortions. He could have strengthened his point about the Democrats were he to remind voters that they now, again nearly unanimously, favor taxpayer funding for abortion.