Trump’s statement on abortion during an MSNBC interview earlier today has gotten a lot of attention:
“Look, people in certain parts of the Republican Party, conservative Republicans, would say, ‘Yes, it should,’” Trump answered.
“How about you?” Matthews asked.
“I would say it’s a very serious problem and it’s a problem we have to decide on. Are you going to send them to jail?” Trump said.
“I’m asking you,” Matthews said.
“I am pro-life,” Trump said. Asked how a ban would actually work, Trump said, “Well, you go back to a position like they had where they would perhaps go to illegal places but we have to ban it,” Trump said.
Matthews then pressed Trump on whether he believes there should be punishment for abortion if it were illegal
“There has to be some form of punishment,” Trump said. “For the woman?” Matthews asked. “Yeah,” Trump said, nodding.
Trump said the punishment would “have to be determined.”
Many people have—rightfully—condemned Trump’s statement. But, as with much of what Trump says, this is just the standard GOP position without the niceties or dissemblance.
If you believe something is illegal, then you believe there should be penalties for doing it. Illegality does not mean "X should not happen anymore"; it means "You will face a penalty from the state if you do X." Anyone who argues that abortion should be illegal is arguing ipso facto for there to be a penalty (whether fine, incarceration, etc.) from the state. That’s what makes the difference between moral condemnation and legal prohibition.
And, so, it’s a bit much for John Kasich to be criticizing Trump here. The John Kasich who, according to Mother Jones, is “making hell for women seeking abortions.” The John Kasich who has overseen the closure of half of Ohio’s abortion clinics.
I’ve seen some argue that the real target of illegality should be the providers, not the women seeking abortion. That is logically incoherent if you believe, as the GOP does, that abortion is murder. If abortion is murder, then you believe that the woman is an accomplice to the act of murder. And accomplices to murder face legal penalties.
What Trump said is not a gaffe. And it is not an anomaly. It is the standard GOP position.