Earlier this week, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews conducted an hour-long interview with the one and only Donald Trump. As with any long and substance filled political interview, the media has boiled it down to one moment.
Matthews asked Donald Trump how he would enforce an abortion ban, and more specifically, would he punish the women who get them. It was an uncomfortably long five-minute back and forth in which Matthews repeated the question multiple times and Donald Trump made attempt after cringe-worthy attempt to turn the question back around on the interviewer or beat around the bush. But Matthews held firm, retorting, “This is not something you can dodge.” And finally, finally, Trump seemed to realize he was trapped, and with a shrug confessed, “There has to be some form of punishment.”
Remaining Republican candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich were quick to condemn the remark as extreme and insensitive. But was it really that extreme? Cruz has remarked on multiple occasions that he believes a fetus is a full human life from the “moment of conception” and as governor Kasich passed “the most pro-life budget in history” that defined life as beginning at, you guessed it, “the moment of conception.” So if this “fetus equals human” logic is to be followed through to its logical conclusion, abortion is murder. Therefore, the woman receiving the abortion is a murderer. So my question to pro-life politicians and activists, "If you truly believe a fetus is a fully-fledged person at the moment of conception, why shouldn’t the woman carrying it be punished? Why shouldn’t she be charged with first-degree murder?" You can’t have it both ways. If you believe a fetus is a full human life at the moment of conception, then own up to it. Make abortion murder.
But if you don’t think that women who get abortions should be charged with murder, then I conclude that you don’t really and truly believe a fetus is a full-fledged human being at the moment of conception. And if that is true I have another question, "Why do you really want to ban abortion? If you don’t believe abortion is murder, and thus don’t believe a fetus is a full human life, what is the real drive of the anti-abortion movement?"
Perhaps the anti-abortion movement isn’t as much about protecting the “sanctity of life” as many would lead you to believe. If that were true, it’s members would listen to the actual science and medical research regarding fetal development. An infinitely more believable explanation is that the core belief at the center of the anti-abortion movement not about protecting fetuses, but about controlling women. Controlling women’s rights to make decisions regarding our own bodies and life plans.
Now, this is not to say that many don’t believe that a fetus is more human and pain-feeling than science would claim, and I accept that for some individuals that may be their sole reason for being against abortion. But as an overall movement, evidence is pointing “life begins at conception” really being the core driving belief.
