We have come to see abortion as the ultimate culture-war issue, but it is not inherently ideological. The problem with making policy on abortion is this: A conceptus does not appear equal to a person. Yet there is no meaningful distinction between a newborn infant and a fetus the day before birth. Weighing the relative importance of human autonomy and the value of nascent human life is not a typical matter of left and right. Both support for abortion rights and opposition to abortion are argued as matters of inclusion and social justice.

This has left nearly monolithic parties to appeal to a more ethically complex country. A 2018 Gallup poll found 29 percent who believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances, 14 percent in most circumstances, 35 percent in few circumstances and 18 percent in no circumstances. So nearly 8 in 10 Americans believe that abortion should be available in all or some circumstances. And nearly 7 in 10 believe that abortion should be restricted in all or some circumstances.

Biden’s traditional position on this issue — that there should be a difference in government’s role in “the first day and the ninth month” — could effectively appeal to a country with these views. And his opposition to federal funding of abortion was one of the last remaining ways for a Democratic politician to tell Catholics (and others) that their ethical concerns have some degree of merit. Now, a Democratic presidential nominee is not allowed even a hint of reticence. Abortion must be supported and funded as a positive good.