Trump Tweets On Abortion Aimed At Toning Down Debate
President Trump's series of tweets over the weekend about abortion were aimed at telling the conservative and anti-abortion movement to tone it down and unite around more mainstream positions, after the highly restrictive Alabama law and others like it have stoked the abortion debate, senior administration officials and White House advisers say.
Senior administration officials see a danger in recent abortion legislation in Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri galvanizing women voters and particularly suburban women to view such legislation as attempts to erase access to abortion and to criminalize procedures thought to be constitutionally untouchable — such as abortions in the case of incest, rape, or when it's necessary to save the life of the mother.
The law passed in Alabama allows no exceptions for rape and incest after six weeks, a measure that even some like longtime televangelist Pat Roberts have labeled too "extreme." A senior White House official said recent abortion legislation has come up only briefly in conversations at the White House, but the president's tweets reflect his long-held personal views.
