Evangelical Leader Roasts Republican Waffling on Abortion: ‘Pro-Life with Three Exceptions – Rape, Incest, and Declining Poll Numbers’

Evangelical leader Russell Moore did not mince words after some prominent Republicans backtracked on their previously vehement anti-abortion stances.

On Monday, former President Donald Trump announced he opposes a federal abortion ban and said the matter should be left for the states to decide. The next day he sang a different tune after the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated a 160-year-old law banning abortion in all cases except to save the life of the mother. Trump said the decision went too far. Arizona U.S. Senate Republican candidate Kari Lake urged the state legislature to act to void the decision, calling it “out of line with where the people of this state are.” Meanwhile, a slew of Republicans in competitive races have softened their positions on abortion.

Moore appeared on Friday’s AC360 on CNN, where he offered his reaction:

Well, as someone who’s both pro-life and anti-Trump, I was confused by the rhetoric. I think he’s trying to make this intentionally murky. The problem is that a pro-life vision requires a moral vision, requires persuasion as to why every human life is valuable. And that requires a particular view of human dignity, of vulnerability.

And we don’t have that here, especially when you look at the Kari Lake Senate ad. It sounded exactly like a Planned Parenthood super PAC ad for pro-choice candidates. These people seem to be acting as though they’re pro-life with three exceptions – rape, incest, and declining poll numbers. And that’s not a compelling moral vision to persuade the hearts and minds of people.

Trump has frequently boasted that he appointed three of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion.