By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
McALLEN, Texas |...Came the statement somewhat late if late is a few weeks, a few months. What was drama queen Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's wishy-washy position on the hit-button issue of abortion? Would the adulterer say he'd ban it nationally, as his rabid supporters insist, or would he melt-in with the effect as it would affect his campaign?
Trump went with latter. He thinks talk of abortion is the worst conversation for Republicans.
This in a country where, analysts say, up to 2 million abortions occur annually. 878,000 in the first 10 months of last year, 2023. The statistical data is clear - Americans are into abortion as a medical treatment.
Politicians, well, Republicans, don't get it. They lean on abortion as some sort of God-divined no-no, when reality (life) shows it to be a necessity, at times a life-saving necessity. Yes, the abortion numbers went down in states (South Carolina, Indiana, North Carolina) that outlawed it, but that was not about need as much as it was about political power.
As the 2024 General Election gears up for its usual late-inning drama, Democrats are using the Republican anti-abortion position to win votes. And, as has happened in states where abortion is placed on the ballot, they know it is a winning issue up and down the ballot.
President Joe Biden is playing it up, as is the Democratic National Committee (DNC); Republicans not so much.
Indeed, Republicans are harping on Trump's new (fake) position. They know it is a loser in November.
From newrepublic.com: [ . . . .In a rambling video statement posted to Truth Social on Monday, Donald Trump claimed that if he is - egads! - reelected, abortion "will" be left to the states. "The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land," he said. "Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will [be] more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people."
Trump’s statement is notable in part for what he left out. By declining to support a federal, week-specific ban on abortion, he angered Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life, a powerful anti-abortion group. "We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position," she said. "Saying the issue is 'back to the states' cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy." ]
For me, this is not an issue worthy of a national referendum. The Border Wall, yes. Abortion, no.
Medicine is a patient's issue. Government does not belong in that world. Doctors are not trained to sway with arriving political issues. An abortion is a treatment for the woman, for the woman and her husband, for the woman and her family, for the woman and her doctor, for the woman and her faith.
Republicans often wish to rule with a heavy hand.
Mostly, it is Republican men.
They should play with their own bodies. What do they call it - pocket pool?...
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