Power Line’s Steve Hayward looks at the abortion issue. Trump has indicated he would veto a bill making abortion illegal nationwide, preferring the issue be settled at the state level. Pro-life advocates claim this issue is one of basic human rights, similar to slavery.
Hayward quotes the pseudonymous Lucretia noting Lincoln did not advocate an immediate nationwide ban on slavery as a national consensus did not yet exist pre-civil war.
Lincoln put together a coalition which included those who were absolutists on abolition; those who wanted to use federal power to stop the spread of slavery in federal territories; and those who were simply prejudiced or did not want to compete against slave labor. That coalition would not have held together had Lincoln insisted on a constitutional amendment to ban slavery prior to the Civil War.
Trump is aware that a majority of Americans want abortion to be available in at least some circumstances. Leaving it to the states means avoiding a national fight on the issue.
I’d argue that the issue of abortion is much less one-sided than that of slavery. There are positive human values on both sides of the abortion issue. I’m sure many agree.
