Donald Trump has done something that many people didn’t think was possible. When the Donald declared that there ought to be “some form of punishment” for women who get abortions, he was forced to walk it back in part due to withering criticism from both sides of the abortion divide. However, it will be amply demonstrated that the real reason forced birthers were upset at the GOP front-runner is that he was really saying what they themselves say in unguarded moments.
One of those leaders, Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List, gave Trump what amounted to a stern lecture on Thursday’s edition of NPR’s “Morning Edition.” Dannenfelser said that abortion opponents are against “the idea that we punish women.” Rather, she claimed, the abortionist should be punished for being the one that “drove her to the deed.” As she saw it, Trump was speaking with “the zeal of a convert.”
When I heard this on the way to work Thursday morning, it was all I could do to keep from yelling out loud, “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” After all, Dannenfelser herself said last year on a Christian radio show that allowing abortions only in cases of rape or incest is “utterly inconsistent with the pro-life position,” but supporting such exceptions is “a political judgment” that has to be swallowed until we get more people in office who want abortion completely banned.
In effect, Dannenfelser said that in an ideal world, she would have no problem telling a woman whose pregnancy was the product of degrading circumstances, “Tough luck, you have to keep your baby.” Riddle me this, Marjorie. In what world is denying a woman the option of an abortion after she has been violated not a form of punishment? It harkens back to the days when rape and incest were somehow deemed to be the victim’s fault.
Indeed, just hours later, Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice weighed in on the matter on his radio show. He argued that if Roe v. Wade were ever struck down, a state would be well within its rights to impose criminal penalties on women who have abortions. Listen here.
Sekulow contended that if abortion were ever made illegal again and a woman voluntarily underwent an abortion, a state could legally punish “anybody involved in the process”–including the woman. Later, he said that Trump was not “legally incorrect” to say that a woman could be punished if abortion were ever criminalized again. After all, he said, “the unborn child is a person.” Listen here.
This isn’t just “the zeal of a convert.” This is a longtime religious right veteran.
When you consider that Dannenfelser herself is on record as effectively saying that women should be punished for having an abortion, and that Sekulow admitted Trump was legally on target, you can only draw one conclusion. Trump was only saying what Dannenfelser, Sekulow, and other forced birthers say away from the cameras and microphones, or at least when they think only the true believers are watching and listening. The only thing they’re really upset about is that the Donald brought it into the open.
