He told a reporter that, "I think the Roe v. Wade situation was a big mistake and the states sought to have the right to decide on the issue. So I would deny jurisdiction to the federal courts on abortion." First off, states have powers, people have rights. Secondly, the Constitution that Paul claims to champion says judicial power extends to "all cases" arising under the Constitution, so Paul as president wouldn't have a say on what jurisdiction federal courts have. And courts don't rule on abortion, they rule on the laws.
Paul added that, "I don't see it (abortion) as a privacy issue. I think it's only a life issue. As an obstetrician, I can verify the fact that life does exist. It's (fetus) very much alive and it's very human and I have a legal responsibility for it. If I do any harm, I can be sued for it. If an individual kills a fetus, they can be hauled into court for it. So it's legal life. To say that life doesn't exist ~ if someone kills a fetus in a car accident, they have to answer to this. So why is it life one time and not another time?"
That statement has many problems, but the one important issue is that the Constitution clearly says that the Constitution's legal authority applies to "persons born;" it doesn't say "persons to be born" or "fetuses which may be born." And it doesn't define what life is or what is "legal life." And it doesn't say when life begins, only when constitutional jurisdiction starts.
To assess Reagan again we must consider that he also said: "To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy." But that is exactly what his policies started.
On economics, taxes, protecting rights or any other public issue; to paraphrase an old slogan: "a conservative mind is a terrible thing to use."
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