DONALD J. TRUMP gave his primary opponents a gift when he said this week that if abortion is outlawed, “there has to be some form of punishment” for the woman. He let them look as if they cared about women.

Gov. John Kasich of Ohio responded to Mr. Trump’s comments by saying, “Of course women shouldn’t be punished.” Like his fellow Republican presidential candidate Mr. Trump, Mr. Kasich opposes legal abortion except in cases of rape and incest and to save the woman’s life. Mr. Kasich has signed 17 anti-abortion measures into law since he took office in 2011. Half the clinics in Ohio in operation at the beginning of his tenure have closed or stopped performing abortions.

In a statement, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said, “Being pro-life is not simply about the unborn child, it’s also about the mother.” He would permit legal abortion only to save the woman’s life — no exception for rape and incest victims — and tried to shut down the government in his effort to defund Planned Parenthood. Virtually every anti-abortion group in the country quickly disavowed the notion of punishing women, many using words like compassion, love and healing. The movement’s hashtag is #lovethemboth.

Within hours, Mr. Trump retracted his “punishment” statement, saying that only the doctor or person who performed the abortion would be held legally responsible. That is the standard anti-abortion line, but face it, punishing the woman is logical.