The word “socialism” terrifies some of today’s Democrats, even as leading figures in the party embrace the term.

Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Richmond, Virginia, who narrowly won her House seat in 2018 and narrowly retained it in 2020, made news when her emphatic comment on a postelection phone call was leaked to the media.

Spanberger urged her fellow Democrats: “We need to not ever use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again.”

Pro-life Americans hold a variety of views on the size and scope of government programs. But how has socialism generally treated the right to life? Not well, historically.