ThinkProgress has a statement from J.C. Watts criticizing Giuliani's position on abortion.

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has said that he is personally opposed to abortion, but still supports a woman's right to choose. Today, CNN political contributor J.C. Watts criticized Giuliani's position, stating, "That's the same as saying, I'm personally opposed to slavery, but if somebody else wants to own slaves, it's okay."

Ummmmm, no. It would be the same, if abortion were universally considered to be abhorrent, immoral, and entirely without a place in society. While it is certainly seen that way by many (J.C. Watts, no doubt, among them), there are millions of people that recognize that doctors must retain the right to perform abortions, and that women must retain the right to have them.

See, Giuliani is simply saying that while he has a position on the issue, he believes that he should not force his own opinion on other people. This is an entirely reasonable belief to hold, and it does not deserve to be blasted on cable TV. I personally find abortions incredibly sad, and I wish they were never necessary. But I would fight like hell to keep them legal, because I believe that to ban them is to infringe upon personal liberty, to invade privacy, and to impose deeply patronizing restrictions on women.

It's probably hard for a cable news pundit to imagine holding an opinion without relentlessly attempting to convince others of its exclusive correctness. But this is, in fact, normal. When Watts invokes slavery here, he is implying that abortion is as universally hated as slavery. The implication is false, and Watts knows it. Of course, the real purpose of his statement is to sensationalize Giuliani's position and cast him as some sort of bigot by association. This is called an "appeal to emotion," and it's actually not a good way to win a real argument.

I think Godwin's Law applies in this situation. Instead of invoking Hitler, Watts invokes the institution of slavery, but it's not hard to imagine a slavery-related corollary. Therefore, I declare that the debate is over, and that Watts has lost.

Update: In Giuliani's own words:

"Where people of good faith, people who are equally decent, equally moral and equally religious, when they come to different conclusions about this, about something so very very personal, I believe you have to respect their viewpoint," he said. "You give them a level of choice here."