Florida has a six-week ban on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest, and threats to the mother’s life. A ballot initiative would restore a Roe-like sweeping right to abortion that extends throughout pregnancy. Asked how he would vote today, Donald Trump said he would vote that six weeks is not enough time. His campaign later explained that his statement did not imply that he would vote yes.

Trump also announced that if elected, he would have either the government or insurers (which is to say taxpayers, workers, and Americans generally) pay for in vitro fertilization, which inevitably will mean the deliberate destruction of many more human embryos.

None of this is politically necessary. It’s not going to diminish the fury of liberals over his role in reversing Roe v. Wade. It’s not going to help him overcome the chief obstacle to his election: the deep character flaws that have made him persistently unpopular. It’s just going to help entrench the evil of abortion in American life.

This would be a politically difficult time for Republicans even if they were led by someone who cared even slightly about the right to life, felt some obligation to do right by pro-lifers, or just knew enough about the issue to make the case that (for example) the Florida initiative does more than extend the time limit a little. They are led instead by Trump.