In the video, Trump did not say when he thought abortion should be banned during pregnancy, instead pointing to a nationwide rollback that Democrats likely used as a cudgel ahead of the November election. refused support. But Trump’s endorsement of a patchwork approach leaves open the possibility that he will follow the strictest state legislation that President Joe Biden and his re-election campaign are already working on.
In the video, President Trump once again takes credit for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that ended Roe v. Wade, saying he was “proudly responsible for ending” the constitutional right to abortion. , expressed gratitude to the conservative judge who overturned the abortion. name.
He once again voiced support for three exceptions for rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is in danger, while states now have different restrictions in the wake of the Dobbs v. Johnson decision. He also explained the legal situation. The June 24, 2022 Jackson Women’s Health Authority decision overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
“Many states will be different. Many will have different numbers of weeks, some will be more conservative than others, and that will be their fate,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about the will of the people.”
The announcement to decline support for a national ban drew immediate condemnation from SBA Pro-Life America, one of the nation’s most prominent groups opposed to abortion rights.
“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group’s president, said in a statement. “Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protection and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision makes it clear that both states and Congress will act.”
The Biden campaign said President Trump “supports all abortion bans in each state, including no-exception abortion bans.”
“And he is bragging about his role in creating this hellish scene,” campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa told X.
President Trump suggested in a radio interview last month that he was leaning toward supporting a nationwide abortion ban around the 15th week of pregnancy, or the beginning of the second trimester.
“The current consensus on the number of weeks is 15 weeks, and that’s what I’m thinking about,” he told WABC radio. “And it’s going to be a very reasonable one. But people actually agree, even the hardliners, and the 15-week number seems to be something that people agree on.”
At the same time, President Trump seemed reluctant to accept a federal ban.
“Everyone agrees – we’ve heard this for years – all legal scholars on both sides agree, this is a national issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it should be a state issue. ” he said.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Republican-led states ushered in a new wave of regulations. More than a dozen Republican-controlled states have outright bans on abortion, while others have banned abortions with increasingly shrinking deadlines.
Other reproductive procedures, such as in vitro fertilization, also face restrictions, but they quickly became a talking point for the movement after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled this year that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Ta. President Trump has said he strongly supports the availability of in vitro fertilization. Alabama lawmakers and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey have agreed to protect IVF providers from legal liability.
Democrats believe the fight over abortion rights will help them vote, and they have outperformed expectations in subsequent elections. Voters in seven states have sided with abortion rights supporters on ballot measures, and more states are expected to put abortion on the ballot this year, including Florida, Maryland and New York.
President Trump has long argued that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe gave opponents of abortion rights “tremendous power to negotiate.” He said he wanted to use his influence to strike a deal that would “make both sides happy” and “unite” the country. This is despite the fact that the issue is one of the most contentious in American politics, and that some opponents view abortion as: Homicide and its supporters consider it a fundamental right of women.
Trump has tried to put the needle on abortion throughout the campaign. He has called Roe v. Wade a “moral and unconstitutional atrocity,” has always taken credit for appointing the Supreme Court justice who overturned it, and has called himself “the most pro-life president in American history.” It is called.
But he also repeatedly criticized his fellow Republicans for being too hard-line on the issue, saying he was among the first 11 candidates in the same year to deny exceptions in cases of rape, incest or where the life of a pregnant person is at risk. He accused the party of defeating the party in May.
“A lot of pro-life politicians don’t know how to discuss this topic and end up losing elections. We lose a lot of elections because of this, because they Because they didn’t know what to discuss. They had no idea,” he said at the Concerned Women of America 2023 Leadership Summit.
In the video, Trump told Republicans: “You have to follow your heart on this issue.” But remember, in order to restore our culture and indeed save our country, which is currently and very sadly in decline, we must win elections. ”
Instead, he sought to portray Democrats as extreme on the issue.
“We must remember that the Democratic Party is the most radical party in this position,” he said in the video.
Meanwhile, Democrats and the Biden campaign are focusing on the issue in an effort to draw a contrast with President Trump.
Polls consistently show that most Americans believe abortion should be legal until the early stages of pregnancy. According to a poll conducted last June by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about half of American adults say abortions should be allowed at 15 weeks.
The majority of abortions from 2012 to 2021 were performed within 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision established a constitutional right to an abortion up to the viable period of pregnancy, around 23 or 24 weeks.
According to health policy research firm KFF, abortions in the third trimester are rare and occur when there is a serious fetal abnormality, the mother’s life is at risk, or the woman significantly delays seeking an abortion. It is often done when
___ Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Meg Kinard contributed to this report.
