Doug Mainwaring has penned an informative article at Life Site that puts Melania Trump’s recently announced support for abortion in a broader historical context.
In her new memoir, Melania, and in a promotional video for that book (embedded below), Mrs. Trump has publicly expressed support for abortion, aligning with a bipartisan historical trend among First Ladies since Roe v. Wade.
What apparently makes Melania Trump different — at least among Republican First Ladies — is her very public promotion of abortion while her husband is still in political life.
Since 1973, First Ladies have generally supported abortion, though some were more reserved in their support for the atrocity. Here are some points from Doug Mainwaring’s piece:
- Jill Biden criticized the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
- Michelle Obama expressed disappointment over the Dobbs decision and supported Planned Parenthood.
- Laura Bush, wife of George W. Bush, and her daughter Barbara have shown support for abortion, with Barbara Bush (the elder Barbara’s granddaughter), zealously promoting Planned Parenthood.
- Barbara Bush, the wife of George H.W. Bush, was overtly pro-choice.
- Nancy Reagan and Rosalynn Carter have expressed personal opposition but supported the “right to choose,” with Nancy Reagan later coming out more explicitly for abortion and the medical use of aborted fetal tissue. Mrs. Regan is also alleged to have said, “I don’t give a damn about the right-to-lifers.”
Is there a lesson to be learned from this for the Catholic faithful? There are likely many, but one of them is that the elites on both the right and left wings of what Gary Potter calls “our national liberalism,” are not our friends but our enemies. We Christians pray for our enemies, of course, but we must not be so stupid as to think that they are not our enemies.
https://t.co/ZCTwZSqZND pic.twitter.com/Y9MT3uj97b
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) October 3, 2024
