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Donald Trump: Don’t Change Abortion Laws, “The Laws are Set, We Have to Leave it That Way”
lifenews.com ^ | April 2, 2016 | Steven Ertelt

Posted on 04/02/2016 12:54:01 PM PDT by Morgana

Donald Trump has commented on the issue of abortion again with a statement that is ure to upset pro-life voters further after repeatedly applauding the Planned Parenthood abortion business. In new remarks on Friday, Trump said the nation’s abortion laws — which allow virtually unlimited abortions and have resulted in the destruction of 58 million unborn children, should not be changed.

Trump said, “The laws are set now on abortion and that’s the way they’re going to remain until they’re changed.”

“I would’ve preferred states’ rights,” he added. “I think it would’ve been better if it were up to the states. But right now, the laws are set….At this moment, the laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way.”

The comments come just days after Trump stirred a nationwide controversy by saying women who have potentially illegal abortions should be “punished,” and the subsequently backtracking just hours later to say that abortion bans should target abortion practitioners instead.

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Here’s more from CBS News:

Trump sought to clarify his position during an interview on Friday with “Face the Nation” moderator John Dickerson. The interview will air, in part, on Sunday’s broadcast.

“A question was asked to me. And it was asked in a very hypothetical. And it was said, ‘Illegal, illegal,'” Trump explained. “I’ve been told by some people that was an older line answer and that was an answer that was given on a, you know, basis of an older line from years ago on a very conservative basis.”

Asked how he’d like to change the law to further restrict access to abortions, Trump replied, “The laws are set now on abortion and that’s the way they’re going to remain until they’re changed.”

“I would’ve preferred states’ rights,” he added. “I think it would’ve been better if it were up to the states. But right now, the laws are set….At this moment, the laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way.”

“Do you think abortion is murder?” Dickerson asked.

“I have my opinions on it, but I’d rather not comment on it,” Trump replied.

“You said you were very pro-life,” Dickerson followed up. “Pro-life means that…abortion is murder.”

“I mean, I do have my opinions on it. I just don’t think it’s an appropriate forum,” said Trump.

“But you don’t disagree with that proposition, that it’s murder?” Dickerson asked.

“No, I don’t disagree with it,” Trump eventually replied.

After Friday’s comments, Trump’s campaign released a statement clarifying his comments.

Trump campaign communications manager Hope Hicks released a statement to CBS News late Friday clarifying the candidate’s comments:

“Mr. Trump gave an accurate account of the law as it is today and made clear it must stay that way now –until he is President,” Hicks said. “Then he will change the law through his judicial appointments and allow the states to protect the unborn. There is nothing new or different here.”

Earlier this week, Trump surrogates were doing damage control — also saying he misspoke — for the Republican presidential candidate after he told MSNBC in an interview that women should be punished for having abortions if abortions are someday banned again.

“Should abortion be punished? This is not something you can dodge,” pro-abortion MSNBC host Chris Matthews asked him.

“Look, people in certain parts of the Republican Party, conservative Republicans, would say, ‘Yes, it should,’” Trump responded.

Trump later added that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who get abortions after a ban is implemented, acknowledging the punishment would “have to be determined.”

Trump quickly walked back his statement in two successive statements from his campaign and said his position is that abortion practitioners should be held accountable, not the women involved.

“If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman,” the Trump campaign said in the statement just hours later after significant criticism.

Abortion activists like Hillary Clinton and Planned Parenthood have already seized on the comments to bash pro-life people and many pro-life advocates have said Trump hurt the pro-life cause with his comment and subsequent reversal.

While pro-life advocates yearn for the day when unborn children are protected under law and abortions are banned, the pro-life movement has historically opposed punishing women who have abortions — instead focusing on holding abortion practitioners criminally accountable for the unborn children they kill in abortions.

That pro-woman mentality is partly due to the understanding that the abortion industry preys on women — selling them abortions by lying to them about the humanity of their unborn children and the destructive effects abortion will have. The pro-woman, pro-life attitude is also partly due to the fact that the pro-life movement is led by millions of women who had abortions and now deeply regret their decisions, thanks to a change of heart on abortion, or a religious conversion or a simply understanding that they took the life of their own child.

When abortions were illegal pre-Roe, women were not prosecuted and current abortion bans, such as the ban on partial-birth abortions, do not punish women who have abortions.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: 1stcanadiansenator; abortion; globalistcruz; noteligiblecruz; openboarderscruz; prolife; trump
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To: Arthur McGowan
Another article hysterically calling Trump pro-abortion

There's more to it than that. It's an object lesson in his lack of self restraint and informed judgement when he blurts out the first thing that comes into his head.

If Matthews can roll him like that, only God knows that Pelosi will do.

21 posted on 04/02/2016 1:21:47 PM PDT by don-o (He will not share His glory. And He will NOT be mocked! Blessed be the Name of the Lord forever!)
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To: softwarecreator

4th, once for each of the different answers that Trump has given. Knowing Trump, I’d look for three or four more threads on this.


22 posted on 04/02/2016 1:22:51 PM PDT by SampleMan (Feral Humans are the refuse of socialism.)
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To: lodi90
Lifenews is a GOPe water carrying outfit.

As much as I despise all the vanity threads lately, I am sorely tempted to start one so we can get a complete list of GOPe tools/hacks (that need to burn in hell). Though it might be easier to ask for who / what is not.

?????

23 posted on 04/02/2016 1:27:44 PM PDT by don-o (He will not share His glory. And He will NOT be mocked! Blessed be the Name of the Lord forever!)
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To: Morgana

“I would’ve preferred states’ rights,” he added. “I think it would’ve been better if it were up to the states. But right now, the laws are set….At this moment, the laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way.”

“Do you think abortion is murder?” Dickerson asked.

“I have my opinions on it, but I’d rather not comment on it,” Trump replied.

“You said you were very pro-life,” Dickerson followed up. “Pro-life means that…abortion is murder.”

“I mean, I do have my opinions on it. I just don’t think it’s an appropriate forum,” said Trump.

“But you don’t disagree with that proposition, that it’s murder?” Dickerson asked.

“No, I don’t disagree with it,” Trump eventually replied.

******************************************************

I saw that. Donald was doing so good avoiding the stupid gotcha question, until the end. It’s a question that will not win one supporter and can only alienate someone no matter what you answer. When abortion was illegal it was never defined as “murder”, but as a separate crime with far less penalties. And Trump is right, the law is set until Roe v. Wade is overturned, and then it’s unlikely that it will be outlawed at the federal level, but left to the states. Murder is defined by state laws, not federal, The president has no say over it at all, so why take the bait?


24 posted on 04/02/2016 1:30:50 PM PDT by Hugin (Conservatism without Nationalism is a fraud.)
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To: JBW1949
“Can you not read??? Or did you just not read the article??

Let me help you... From the article:

“Mr. Trump gave an accurate account of the law as it is today and made clear it must stay that way now until he is President,” Hicks said. “Then he will change the law through his judicial appointments and allow the states to protect the unborn. There is nothing new or different here.””

Agree.

Trump reveals more of the lying establishment/ ruling political order and many phoney advocacy groups promoting utopia if we will only send a donation to a P O Box in Washington DC. [ actually there are probably more “conservative/religious” scam directed toward we present/former GOPers than there are scams directed to the libtard leftists

25 posted on 04/02/2016 1:35:37 PM PDT by texican01
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To: Arthur McGowan

Trump is pro-Trump.


26 posted on 04/02/2016 1:43:18 PM PDT by Slyfox (Donald Trump's First Principle is the Art of the Deal)
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You see, what he said was, the laws are the way they are until they're changed -- hardly something anyone can argue against.
27 posted on 04/02/2016 1:52:03 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: Morgana

He is pro life...he said the law is what it is, he didn’t say that it shouldn’t be changed. He has to learn to avoid hypothetical questions especially from idiots like Chris Mathews...that was a setup from moment 1.


28 posted on 04/02/2016 2:05:48 PM PDT by terycarl (COMMON SENSE PREVAILS OVER ALL)
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To: don-o

I never said Trump has thought deeply about abortion and the law, or pro-life strategy. He hasn’t.

But calling him “pro-abortion” is unproductive. He’s better than Hillary, and absolutely nothing else matters right now.

But the pro-life movement has been barking up the wrong tree for 43 years.

Why is abortion “legal”? Because the Supreme Court has instructed the GOVERNORS of the states to pretend that abortion is not homicide.

The pro-life responded to this instruction by wasting decades dreaming about a Human Life Amendment. The March for Life is STILL marching for Nellie Gray’s “Paramount Human Life Amendment.”

The pro-life movement SHOULD have focused on getting GOVERNORS who would DISOBEY the Supreme Court.

When the Rescue Movement opened up the issue of NULLIFICATION—by making the moral demand on the cops to stop pretending that abortion is not homicide—the Catholic bishops, the pro-life politicians, the governors, the courts—all REFUSED to do their duty. Almost unanimously, they took the position that “the law”—by which they meant the lawless Supreme Court—”must be obeyed.”

Until the pro-life movement is no longer dominated by muddleheads, I do not care what they think of Donald Trump.


29 posted on 04/02/2016 2:22:34 PM PDT by Arthur McGowan
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To: Morgana
“The laws are set now on abortion and that’s the way they’re going to remain until they’re changed.”

Scholars and philosophers down through ages to come will study with hushed awe the profundity of this statement. It will be inscribed in stone on mountain tops and beamed into deep space with lasers!

30 posted on 04/02/2016 2:24:24 PM PDT by TigersEye (This is the age of the death of reason and rule of law. Prepare!)
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To: lee martell

> “If Donald cannot get his story straight, his ‘beliefs’ clarified and stuck to, this may be how his campaign is finally dismantled. “

Trump is focused on the big priorities, not the small stuff. Some people sweat the small stuff when in fact the small stuff will be taken care of by first addressing the larger issues.

Don’t worry about ancillary issues, Some of them are important but nonetheless are secondary. Truly they are secondary. He can afford flexibility on these secondary matters.

All political polls of today are invalid. Those that execute them are the 3rd and 4th string of the discipline. Any reputable scientist that enters the field of political polling today is certain to lose their reputation quite quickly.

All such polls today are invalid because of failure to execute scientific sampling plans. They fail because 90 pct of targets are not home, refuse to pickup, or hangup.

That leaves 10 pct sitting at home willing to participate and 10 pct is hardly a representative sample.

Now note there are about 100 million out-of-work Americans and many are sitting at home or are close by. When survey phones ring up registered republicans, independents, Reagan dems, many will pickup if they think it has something to do with Donald Trump. This is why Donald Trump leads in these polls. His voice is representing these people.

These people responding are not particularly fervently passionately engulfed in ancillary issues such as abortion, even though culturally and spiritually it is an important issue. Such people will certainly have a view of such issues, but that’s not what is making them pickup. They’re picking up because they want leadership that will help in changing the environment of their lives. Whether that voice of leadership says something one day about an ancillary issue, and says it with another twist the next day is not what’s important. Nor is Donald’s hairdo a dealbreaker. It’s not about these superficial ancillaries.

No, what’s important is hearing someone who is tremendously successful, who is not owned, who is no one’s puppet, who is part blue collar, who knows the really important issues, who knows the threats, who has the savvy to get things done, and who understands clearly that the middle class is vital to the health of the nation.

So even though these polls are invalid scientifically in the sense that the sample respondents are not representative of the whole, these polls do in fact pickup a signal that extends beyond those sitting at home who are sick of sitting at home.

Now turning to polling in relation to the general election, there is another subgroup that sits at home on the democrat plantation who are part of the federal government reservation. This is the welfare class which includes what is colloquially known as the welfare queens. When the respondents to these general election polls are asked who they will vote for, Hillary or Trump, the polling is skewed to Hillary.

When it comes to women, those sitting home are more often than not part of the fed government reservation and they will vote against Trump.

Now all of this dynamic will change as the race heads closer to November. But as of today and for some weeks more, the polls are truly meaningless with respect to the general. As Donald Trump gets closer to November he will, as all good salespersons do, strip away every last issue of objection to those that criticize him. But he will remain firm on border, immigration, jobs, trade, taxes, banking, social security, healthcare reform, education. Most everything else is negotiable for now, but maybe not for later.


31 posted on 04/02/2016 3:53:49 PM PDT by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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To: lodi90
Lifenews is a GOPe water carrying outfit. I got into it with them on twitter over the defund kabuki show votes. They back the GOPe 100%. No surprise they are hitting Trump.

Oh yes - LOL! It's the "GOPe" because they reported something about Trump you don't like - you aren't upset at Trump for saying it - you're upset that someone reported it! Same thing over and over again from you people - how about trying to defend Trump's comments instead, instead of attacking conservatives for reporting them?

32 posted on 04/02/2016 4:06:35 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: Hostage
Trump is focused on the big priorities

Such as taking the time to attack office holders for not raising taxes and increasing spending like he did this past week?

I agree with you on the polls - the main issue shouldn't whether or not Trump could win - but whether or not we would want someone like this to be the winner and enact his big government statist agenda. The general election campaign would be a war over who could spend more money and give out more handouts between him an Hillary - sort of like the Dem primary all over again.

33 posted on 04/02/2016 4:09:41 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: Republican Wildcat

You don’t like Trump but you make criticisms based on information taken out of context. You can’t see that, or you won’t see it, so there’s no point in any exchange with you.

So find someone else to bug. That means don’t post to me anymore.


34 posted on 04/02/2016 4:16:00 PM PDT by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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To: Republican Wildcat

Stop invading his safe spaaaaace!

35 posted on 04/02/2016 4:42:25 PM PDT by TigersEye (This is the age of the death of reason and rule of law. Prepare!)
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To: Republican Wildcat

Oh yes - LOL! It’s the “GOPe” because they reported something about Trump you don’t like - you aren’t upset at Trump for saying it - you’re upset that someone reported it! Same thing over and over again from you people - how about trying to defend Trump’s comments instead, instead of attacking conservatives for reporting them?


There’s nothing to defend because it’s the truth. This rotten Congress isn’t changing any of those laws.

I can see you’d rather be pandered and lied to by a bought and paid for career politician who knows that. Sorry, some of us don’t want that. We reject the decades of red meat primary season pandering the GOP has used to keep us on the GOP plantation. No more. Period.


36 posted on 04/02/2016 5:16:11 PM PDT by lodi90 (Clear choice for Conservatives now: TRUMP or lose)
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To: Republican Wildcat

Here’s a great little article about your social conservative warrior cutting and running from one of the biggest family value SCOTUS cases of our generation. Now why would a principled conservative do that?

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-29/ted-cruz-anti-gay-marriage-crusader-not-always


37 posted on 04/02/2016 5:27:29 PM PDT by lodi90 (Clear choice for Conservatives now: TRUMP or lose)
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To: Morgana

Trump just lost the nomination and the election


38 posted on 04/02/2016 5:55:16 PM PDT by TomasUSMC (FIGHT LIKE WW2, WIN LIKE WW2. FIGHT LIKE NAM, FINISH LIKE NAM.)
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