During a brief question-and-answer period on Friday, President Joe Biden explained that he rejects science showing that human life begins at conception. He added that while he respects Americans who believe that life begins at conception, he still disagrees.
“I am a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade, number one,” Biden said. “I respect people who don’t support Roe v. Wade. I respect their views. I respect those who believe life begins at the moment of conception and all, I respect that. Don’t agree, but I respect that.”
Biden’s words are a departure from his prior stances. For example, during a 2015 interview he explained, “I’m prepared to accept that the moment of conception is a human life and being.”
During his disastrous 2012 vice presidential debate against Paul Ryan, Biden said, “With regard to abortion, I accept my church’s position on abortion. Life begins at conception. That’s the church’s judgment. I accept it in my personal life.”
Why the flip-flop?
Early in his presidential campaign, Biden received intense backlash from pro-abortion zealots, left-wing activists, and fellow Democrats, causing a transparent shift.
While Biden expressed support for Roe two years ago, he still endorsed the Hyde Amendment, the long-standing ban on using federal funding for abortions.
Within 24 hours of reaffirming that support for Hyde, Biden caved, telling a group of Democrat donors that he could “no longer support” the amendment. He blamed Republicans, of course.
BREAKING: Democrat Joe Biden announces he can no longer support the Hyde Amendment after getting attacked by Democrats over the last 24 hours for supporting it
He blames Republicans for his decision pic.twitter.com/vV1wTD3B3q
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 7, 2019
Fast forward to September 2021. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision not to overturn a recent Texas law banning abortions, Biden suddenly seems more determined to fight Texas than the Taliban.
Like most Democrats, he’s also trafficking in hyperbole.
“The most pernicious thing about the Texas law, it sort of creates a vigilante system….I know this sounds ridiculous, almost un-American, what we are talking about,” Biden said Friday. “I was told that there are possibilities within the existing law to have the Justice Department look and see whether there are things that can be done.”
The president has some facts wrong, as well as public opinion.
In a heartfelt Sunday piece, pro-life activist David French relayed two uplifting graphs about abortions.
Related: Sorry Libs, the Texas Abortion Law Reflects Mainstream Views on Abortion
They showed that the abortion rate is lower than it was a half-century ago, when extinguishing nascent life was illegal; abortions also decreased during pro-life and pro-choice presidencies.
With so many other issues — Afghanistan, COVID-19, rising crime, the economy, and the southern border crisis — can abortion drama take the heat off Biden and distract voters?
On Fox News Sunday, Jonah Goldberg questioned how united Democrat voters are on the issue compared to Republicans.
“I don’t think anybody can really appreciate how distorting and influential Roe v. Wade has been for the last 50 years of American politics. It essentially created the pro-life movement. It became the galvanizing principle of the Republican Party.”
Goldberg then added, “We heard so much about the voting rights bill coming out of Texas. They fled to Washington. This bill was passed in May. Democrats in Texas said nothing about it. And that also points to the fact that black and Hispanic voters, they’re all unified on the issue of voting rights. They’re not all unified on the issue of abortion.” (emphasis mine)
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