海角大神

On NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� Sunday, Chuck Todd asked this of Donald Trump: 鈥淪hould some form of abortion always be legal?鈥�
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听鈥淲ell, to me, I have exceptions. Rape, incest, if the mother is going to die,鈥� Mr. Trump replied. 鈥淎nd Ronald Reagan had those same exceptions. And many Republicans have those same exceptions.鈥�

Other GOP presidential candidates have said pretty much the same thing (Chris Christie, for one), although the more typical response these days 鈥� going into the primary elections and caucuses, where socially conservative activists play an important role 鈥� is a firmer antiabortion declaration, especially given the recent hoo-hah over Planned Parenthood.

On CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said officials in Paraguay were right to deny an abortion to an 11-year-old girl who鈥檇 been raped by her stepfather.

But if what Trump said on 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� is going to be the billionaire developer and reality TV star鈥檚 standard response to one of the most important issues to social conservatives (gay marriage is the other), then he needs to brush up on the former president and Republican icon鈥檚 history on abortion.

In 1967, just months into his first term as governor of California (and six years before the US Supreme Court ruled that abortion was a constitutional right in Roe v. Wade), Mr. Reagan signed the 鈥淭herapeutic Abortion Act,鈥� which allowed for abortion in cases involving rape, incest, or where the pregnancy would threaten the physical or mental health of the woman.

The number of abortions quickly jumped in California, particularly as abortion-rights advocates and like-minded doctors zeroed in on the 鈥渕ental health鈥� provision as a now-legal reason to perform abortions. How could that be specifically defined under law?

鈥淔rom a total of 518 legal abortions in California in 1967, the number of abortions would soar to an annual average of 100,000 in the remaining years of Reagan鈥檚 two terms 鈥� more abortions than in any US state prior to the advent of Roe v. Wade,鈥� the conservative National Review reported in a 2008 piece titled

As Reagan biographer Lou Cannon has written, Reagan was torn by his decision to sign the 鈥淭herapeutic Abortion Act鈥� 鈥� he got conflicting advice from his top aides, and Nancy Reagan is believed to have had a more liberal view. And when he saw the instances of abortion soar in his state (and other states follow suit in liberalizing abortion law), he became ardently antiabortion.

In 1984, the Human Life Foundation published Reagan鈥檚 book 鈥淎bortion and the Conscience of the Nation,鈥� a collection of essays by prominent abortion foes with an introduction by then-president Reagan in which he writes, 鈥淲e cannot diminish the value of one category of human life鈥攖he unborn鈥攚ithout diminishing the value of all human life.鈥�

For Trump, Sunday鈥檚 comments on abortion likely is part of his effort to get beyond the 鈥渨ar on women鈥� charge tied to what were perceived as his crude, misogynistic comments about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly when she aggressively questioned him during the recent GOP presidential debate.
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On 鈥淢eet the Press,鈥� he also said: 鈥淚 understand the importance of women. I have such respect for women. I have many executives in my organization that are women that, frankly, get paid more than many of my men executives. They鈥檝e done great with me.鈥�
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On abortion, Trump鈥檚 position in fact seems more in line with the American public than the rhetoric preferred by social conservatives.

By 75-22 percent, a large majority of those polled by Gallup say abortion tied to rape or incest should be legal. A CNN/ORC poll finds an even wider margin (83-14), including 76 percent of Republicans approving legal abortion in cases of rape or incest.

But when Trump invokes the name of Ronald Reagan as a way of justifying his position here, he鈥檚 wrong.