MADISON, Wis. — Calling Donald Trump’s recent oscillations on abortion “bizarre,” Ted Cruz laid out his own view on abortion in a Fox News town hall the day before Wisconsin’s primary.
Over the past week, Donald Trump has oscillated between advocating “punishments” for mothers seeking abortions, and saying abortion should be kept legal. Cruz knocked Trump’s “bizarre” statements. “It showed that he has not considered seriously this issue.”
A self-described pro-choice moderate voter asked Cruz if his presidency would lead to outlawing abortion. “We should protect all life,” Cruz said, arguing for the issue to be settled through the democratic process, as opposed to the current situation where federal courts have taken abortion largely out of the hands of elected legislators.
Roe v. Wade is not settled law, Cruz told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, but is a “classic case of judicial activism.” Undoing Roe would return abortion to elected legislators and the state. In that case, Cruz said Monday, pro-lifers would need to persuade the country to join them in passing laws to protect the unborn.
As president, Cruz said, he would reinstitute the Mexico City agreement, which curbs U.S. foreign aide to overseas groups aborting babies or counseling abortion.
Fox News host Megyn Kelly asked Cruz on abortion in the case of rape, where most Americans are at odds with the pro-life position. After touting his prosecution of rapists, Cruz said, “as horrible as that crime is, I don’t believe it’s the child’s fault.”
Of Trump’s call for punishing mothers seeking abortions, Cruz said: “These comments are the comments of a liberal who is saying what he thinks conservatives want to hear.”
(The full townhall airs on Fox News on Monday night at 9 pm Eastern.)
Timothy P. Carney, The Washington Examiner’s senior political columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears Tuesday and Thursday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.
