Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said states with abortion bans should be free to monitor pregnant women to make sure they dont terminate their pregnancies, suggesting that would be in line with his newfound position of leaving abortion rights up to the states.

I think they might do that, Trump said in a Time magazine interview published Tuesday, when asked if he thinks states with abortion bans should track women who are pregnant.

Again, youll have to speak to the individual states, he said. Look, Roe v. Wade was all about bringing it back to the states.

After months of giving mixed messages on abortion rights, Trump declared a few weeks ago that his position is that its up to states to decide their own laws.

But his position has long been that he opposes abortion rights.

He campaigned in 2016 on nominating conservative Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. That is exactly what happened , and the three justices he put on the court were the driving force behind a ruling that removed the countrys 50-year constitutional right to abortion.

Trumps positioning now, by putting the onus on state governments, aims to absolve him of any responsibility for restrictions that GOP-led states are currently placing on abortion. Reproductive rights are going to be a huge issue in the November elections, and Trump is trying to appear neutral on a topic hes never been neutral on.

But the problem hes created for himself and for Republicans following his lead is that by saying he supports states doing whatever they choose, he is implicitly accepting whatever restrictions they may impose, including steps as extreme as monitoring pregnant women to stop them from having abortions.

In his Time interview, Trump, who is facing 88 felony charges in four criminal trials, repeatedly declined to answer questions about whether he is comfortable with states punishing women who get illegal abortions in states where the procedure has been severely restricted or banned. Fifteen states currently have near-total abortion bans .

I dont have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, he said. The states are going to make that decision. The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.

Pressed on how he feels about the prospect of women being prosecuted for having abortions in states with bans, the twice-impeached former president said it doesnt matter what he thinks.

Its irrelevant whether Im comfortable or not, said Trump. Its totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions.