Donald Trump Finally Speaks On Abortion But Avoids Specifics, Punts Issue To States

Under heavy scrutiny for refusing to clarify what types of abortion restrictions he would support as president, Donald Trump on Monday boasted about his role in dismantling Roe v. Wade but didnt address any actual action he would take on the issue independent of states decisions.

In a video posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump took credit for the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade  in June 2022, claiming he was proudly the person responsible for the ending of something that all legal scholars, both sides wanted and in fact demanded be ended.

My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state, he said.

Trump recognized that this would mean policies would vary across the country, with some states being more conservative than others.

At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people, he said. You must follow your heart, or in many cases, your religion or your faith. Do whats right for your family and do whats right for yourself. Do whats right for your children. Do whats right for our country.

Still, Trump said he supports some exceptions being in place to abortion bans.

Like Ronald Reagan, Im strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, he said.  

President Joe Biden said in a statement on Monday that he is determined to restore federal abortion rights.

Heres what Donald Trump doesnt understand: When he ripped away Roe v. Wade, he ripped away a fundamental right for the women of America that the United States Supreme Court had affirmed and reaffirmed for 50 years, Biden said. As a fundamental right, it didnt matter where you lived. It was granted to you as an American, not as a resident of any state. Generations of women had come to rely on that right. Now were in the extraordinary position where women today have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. That has never happened before in America. And it cannot be allowed to stand.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of SBA Pro-Life America, a group with the mission of ending abortion in the U.S., said she was disappointed with Trumps position.

Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry, Dannenfelser said in a statement.

During his video statement, Trump, the GOPs presumptive nominee for president, added he was in favor of in vitro fertilization treatments, following a controversial decision by Alabamas Supreme Court which put IVF in the state in jeopardy.

I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby, Trump said. 

His announcement, however, fails to make clear how he would act if Republicans held the majority in both chambers of Congress and implemented stricter abortion restrictions across the country. 

Besides, if elected, Trump is also expected to stack the courts with right-wing, anti-abortion judges who would likely take a hardline approach on the issue.

An old saying goes: watch what they do, not what they say, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Hed sign a national abortion ban into law no matter how much he tries to deny it.

Trump used his message to attack Democrats as the radical ones on the issue, falsely claiming that they support abortion up to and beyond the ninth month.

The concept of having an abortion in the later months and even execution after birth and thats exactly what it is, the baby is born, the baby is executed after birth is unacceptable and almost everyone agrees with that, he said.

Third trimester abortions are extremely rare in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , just 0.9% of abortions that took place in 2020 were carried out at 29 weeks or later.

The former president had teased a formal announcement on the issue of abortion over the weekend. 

He had previously signaled potential support for a nationwide 15-week abortion ban. 

Abortion has been a losing issue for Republicans, with many attributing the partys underwhelming performance in the 2022 midterm elections to their extreme positions on the issue.

Mini Timmaraju, the president and CEO of pro-choice nonprofit Reproductive Freedom for All, said Trumps announcement is a politically calculated move.

He knows that publicly supporting bans loses voters, so he deployed dangerous disinformation about abortion in order to distract from the truth about what he will do if elected, Timmaraju said. Hes responsible for the harm and chaos caused by Republicans abortion bans in the states, and all he is saying is that he wants more of it.