‘Tremendous Consensus’ In Anti-Abortion Movement Over Trump’s ‘Punishment’ Comments
Although there wasn't time to compare talking points, leaders in the movement said there was no need: It's wrong, they all agreed. Meanwhile, the Republican front-runner is blaming a "convoluted" interview for his statement that, if abortions were banned, a woman who had one should be punished. "It could be that I misspoke," he also acknowledged.
The Associated Press:
Trump Says Abortion Comments Were Taken Out of Context
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump now says his contentious comments on abortion were taken out of context. Trump was answering questions during an MSNBC town hall taping Wednesday when he said there should be "some form of punishment" for women who get abortions if the procedure is outlawed. He later reversed his position in a statement. In an interview Thursday night on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor," Trump blamed the flub on a "convoluted" interview. (3/31)
The New York Times:
Donald Trump Acknowledges Misstep On Abortion Question
Donald J. Trump on Thursday allowed that he might have misspoken on the topic of abortion when he told the MSNBC host Chris Matthews that women who have abortions should face some form of punishment if the procedure is banned. But he insisted the media attention to a misstep — amid the volume of questions he answers — gets outsize attention. “If you answer one question inartfully or incorrectly in some form, or you misunderstood it or you misspoke, it ends up being a big story,” he said. “That doesn’t happen with other people.” (Haberman, 3/31)
The Associated Press:
Anti-Abortion Movement Unified In Swift Rebuke Of Trump
Trump soon backtracked from Wednesday's comments, but not before anti-abortion leaders forcefully repudiated him. "There was no time to get on the phone and compare talking points, but all the comments were consistent," said Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life. "The foundational premise of the pro-life movement is to protect both the mother and the unborn child. We don't leave one of them behind." The anti-abortion movement is by no means monolithic — there are sometimes sharp splits over political tactics and the question of whether abortion bans should make exceptions for rape and incest. But there is common ground around the belief that life begins at conception, and a consensus that this belief takes precedence over short-term political calculations. (3/31)
In other news, The Washington Post fact checks Carly Fiorina's portrayal of Hillary Clinton's abortion stance —
The Washington Post's Fact Checker:
Fiorina’s Claim That Hillary Clinton Supports Abortion ‘Up Until The Moment’ Of Birth
Former GOP presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina, now a supporter of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), appeared on Fox to make the case that front-runner Donald Trump had fishy credentials as an opponent of abortion rights, even before Trump caused new controversy for saying women who get abortions should be punished. But we were also interested in her attack on Hillary Clinton’s abortion position. Is it correct that Clinton supports abortion up to the moment of birth? (Kessler, 4/1)
And the governor of Arizona says he "stand[s] with those advocating life," after signing three bills targeted at limiting abortions, and medical schools and universities say House subpoenas over fetal research are a safety risk —
The Associated Press:
Arizona Governor Signs 3 Bills Targeting Abortion Providers
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday announced he had signed three bills targeting abortion providers, including one requiring them to follow outdated federal guidelines for the most common abortion drug and prescribe it at much higher doses than needed. The law boldly defies new FDA rules implemented this week on abortion drugs. The signing of the bill, Senate Bill 1324, is likely to jump-start a federal court case that had blocked a previous version of the legislation. The bill bars doctors from prescribing the drug commonly known as RU-486 after seven weeks of pregnancy and requires it to be taken only at Food and Drug Administration-approved doses in effect until this week. It also requires the two doses of the drug to be taken at a clinic, while providers now send the patient home with the second pill to be taken days after the first. (3/31)
The Hill:
Universities Protest Subpoenas For Fetal Tissue Researchers' Names
Medical schools and universities are protesting Republicans’ decision to issue subpoenas for the names of researchers involved in fetal tissue studies, saying it could put their safety at risk. The Association of American Medical Colleges, which represents all of the country’s medical schools, expressed its “significant concerns” in a letter on Thursday to the heads of the congressional committee set up to investigate Planned Parenthood. (Sullivan, 3/31)
