It was one of those rants that would disqualify a normal candidate. Speak-ing to Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, Donald Trump took off on abortion, saying things that are flat-out untrue and mouthing opinions entirely out of the mainstream. Most of the media ignored it, Trump being Trump.
"It's a beautiful thing to watch," Trump said of states passing extreme and near total bans on access to abortion. The consequences of those bans – horrific consequences – have been documented. A 13-year-old rape victim in Mississippi forced to carry a pregnancy to term because she was denied access to a safe and legal abortion – what is beautiful about that? A young woman in Texas who almost died because doctors were afraid to treat her – does Donald Trump find that beautiful? Twenty states now have near or total bans on abortion, forcing women to travel out of state to secure needed and necessary medical care.
The most vulnerable are the most seriously aff ected – teenagers who don't even know that they are pregnant, poor women who lack the resources and connections to find or afford help in distant states. It is dangerous and downright cruel. Trump claims he supports exceptions for rape and incest and the life of the mother, but he finds it a "beautiful thing to watch" states pass laws that include no such exceptions.
Trump claimed, as he has repeatedly, that "everyone" has been in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade since the case was first decided in 1973. It is simply not so th.