Even so, for the past 25 years, the Democratic Party, at least rhetorically, acknowledged that compelling taxpayers to fund abortions was a step too far in the culture wars. If the call to repeal the Hyde Amendment remains in the Democratic platform, that era is officially over. A party that calls for government funding of abortion does not merely disagree with pro-life Americans, but wants to implicate them through their government of supporting what they believe is a moral evil.

The two of us see this issue somewhat differently. One of us (Wear) voted twice for Obama and served him in his campaign and White House. One of us (Moore) voted twice against him, and opposed him throughout the administration on questions of abortion. One of us (Wear) saw in some of Obama’s language a goodwill effort to achieve something of a big tent. The other (Moore) sees it as political rhetoric because the central issue is whether a human being can be denied the right to life simply based on his or her age, size and vulnerability. Nonetheless, we agree that a major American party calling for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment would be a foreboding sign for American civic life.

Such a call would mean repudiation not only of Americans who are conscientiously pro-life, but also of those who are pro-choice and still morally conflicted about abortion. That would include those who would agree with Vice President Biden, who said in the 2012 vice presidential debate, “Life begins at conception. That’s the church’s judgment. I accept it in my personal life. But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews.”