As former President Jimmy Carter nears the end of his life on Earth in hospice care , there has been much discussion about his legacy as a politician and a humanitarian. The Democrat, who was president from 1977 to 1981, had a different approach to some issues than the modern Democratic Party.

Most notably, Carter was no pro-abortion extremist. Politicians in both major parties, especially Democrats, could learn something from Carter’s stance on abortion.

While campaigning for president in 1976, Carter ran on doing whatever he could to reduce the demand for abortions.

He touted his support for the Hyde Amendment , which prohibits the federal government from funding elective abortions through Medicaid and other means. President Joe Biden supported it until 2019, then kowtowed to the abortion lobby during his 2020 presidential bid. The Hyde Amendment is an effective abortion restriction that saves about 50,000 unborn lives per year.

Additionally, Carter said the government should not encourage abortion . He favored things such as sex education, family planning, access to contraception, and improving the adoption system to reduce demand for abortion.

Unfortunately, he did not support a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion. Sadly, the federal government will not outlaw abortion any time soon; none of the current or prospective Republican presidential candidates are calling for it — not even former Vice President Mike Pence.

However, politicians can and should adopt the demand reduction approach, regardless of whether or not they think abortion should be legal.

The more than 60 million unborn lives lost to legal abortion over the past 50 years are among the biggest tragedies in American history. Even with Roe v. Wade's demise last year, elective abortion is legal in most states. Although states banning abortion decreases the number of abortions that take place, politicians must do more to prevent these tragedies from happening.

Allowing women to obtain hormonal birth control over the counter or directly from a pharmacist could help women get effective contraception, preventing unintended pregnancies. Funding for free condom programs and long-term birth control for low-income women could also help. Increasing Title X family planning funding to non-abortion providers would also help — and the program more than pays for itself.

Politicians could also find pragmatic ways to ease the financial burden of child-rearing. They could fight to increase the federal child tax credit or establish state-level child tax credits . States could require fathers to provide prenatal child support and find ways to fund paid family leave and reduce childcare costs.

Sometimes, reducing childcare costs is a simple fix. Washington, D.C., could reduce childcare costs by eliminating its absurd college degree requirement for daycare employees. After all, having a diploma is no guarantee that someone is good with children.

There is an alternative to the abortion extremism the Democratic Party now embraces. If Democrats viewed abortion as a tragedy the way Carter does, it could benefit their party, women, and unborn children alike.

Tom Joyce ( @TomJoyceSports ) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.