Trump is consistently inconsistent on abortion and reproductive rights
Donald Trump has had a tough time finding a consistent message to questions about abortion and reproductive rights.
The former president has constantly shifted his stances or offered vague, contradictory and at times nonsensical answers to questions on an issue that has become a major vulnerability for Republicans in this year's election. Trump has been trying to win over voters, especially women, skeptical about his views, especially after he nominated three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the nationwide right to abortion two years ago.
The latest example came this week when the Republican presidential nominee said some abortion laws are 맥스카지노too tough맥스카지노 and would be 맥스카지노redone.맥스카지노
맥스카지노It맥스카지노s going to be redone,맥스카지노 he said during a Fox News town hall that aired Wednesday. 맥스카지노They맥스카지노re going to, you맥스카지노re going to, you end up with a vote of the people. They맥스카지노re too tough, too tough. And those are going to be redone because already there맥스카지노s a movement in those states.맥스카지노
Trump did not specify if he meant he would take some kind of action if he wins in November, and he did not say which states or laws he was talking about. He did not elaborate on what he meant by 맥스카지노redone.맥스카지노
He also seemed to be contradicting his own stance when referencing the strict abortion bans passed in Republican-controlled states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Trump recently said he would vote against a constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot that is aimed at overturning the state맥스카지노s six-week abortion ban. That decision came after he had criticized the law as too harsh.
Trump has shifted between boasting about nominating the justices who helped strike down federal protections for abortion and trying to appear more neutral. It's been an attempt to thread the divide between his base of anti-abortion supporters and the majority of Americans who support abortion rights.
About 6 in 10 Americans think their state should generally allow a person to obtain a legal abortion if they don맥스카지노t want to be pregnant for any reason, according to a July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Voters in seven states, including some conservative ones, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to restrict them in statewide votes over the past two years.
Video below: A Conversation with Elizabeth Carr, the First Person Born Via IVF in the U.S.
Trump also has been repeating the narrative that he returned the question of abortion rights to states, even though voters do not have a direct say on that or any other issue in about half the states. This is particularly true for those living in the South, where Republican-controlled legislatures, many of which have been gerrymandered to give the GOP disproportionate power, have enacted some of the strictest abortion bans since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Currently, 13 states have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, while four more ban it after six weeks 맥스카지노 before many women know they맥스카지노re pregnant.
Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups and their Republican allies in state governments are using an array of strategies to counter proposed ballot initiatives in at least eight states this year.
Here's a breakdown of Trump's fluctuating stances on reproductive rights.
Flip-flopping on Florida
On Tuesday, Trump claimed some abortion laws are 맥스카지노too tough맥스카지노 and would be 맥스카지노redone.맥스카지노
But in August, Trump said he would vote against a state ballot measure that is attempting to repeal the six-week abortion ban passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
That came a day after he seemed to indicate he would vote in favor of the measure. Trump previously called Florida's six-week ban a 맥스카지노terrible mistake맥스카지노 and too extreme. In an April Time magazine interview, Trump repeated that he 맥스카지노thought six weeks is too severe.맥스카지노
Trump on vetoing a national ban
Trump맥스카지노s latest flip-flopping has involved his views on a national abortion ban.
During the Oct. 1 vice presidential debate, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that he would veto a national abortion ban: "Everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it.맥스카지노
This came just weeks after Trump repeatedly declined to say during the presidential debate with Democrat Kamala Harris whether he would veto a national abortion ban if he were elected.
Trump맥스카지노s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said in an interview with NBC News before the presidential debate that Trump would veto a ban. In response to debate moderators prompting him about Vance맥스카지노s statement, Trump said: 맥스카지노I didn맥스카지노t discuss it with JD, in all fairness. And I don맥스카지노t mind if he has a certain view, but I don맥스카지노t think he was speaking for me.맥스카지노
맥스카지노Pro-choice맥스카지노 to 15-week ban
Trump맥스카지노s shifting abortion policy stances began when the former reality TV star and developer started flirting with running for office.
He once called himself 맥스카지노very pro-choice.맥스카지노 But before becoming president, Trump said he 맥스카지노would indeed support a ban,맥스카지노 according to his book 맥스카지노The America We Deserve,맥스카지노 which was published in 2000.
In his first year as president, he said he was 맥스카지노pro-life with exceptions맥스카지노 but also said 맥스카지노there has to be some form of punishment맥스카지노 for women seeking abortions 맥스카지노 a position he quickly reversed.
At the 2018 annual March for Life, Trump voiced support for a federal ban on abortion on or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
More recently, Trump suggested in March that he might support a national ban on abortions around 15 weeks before announcing that he instead would leave the matter to the states.
Views on abortion pills, prosecuting women
In the Time interview, Trump said it should be left up to the states to decide whether to prosecute women for abortions or to monitor women's pregnancies.
맥스카지노The states are going to make that decision,맥스카지노 Trump said. 맥스카지노The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.맥스카지노
Democrats have seized on the comments he made in 2016, saying 맥스카지노there has to be some form of punishment맥스카지노 for women who have abortions.
Trump also declined to comment on access to the abortion pill mifepristone, claiming that he has 맥스카지노pretty strong views맥스카지노 on the matter. He said he would make a statement on the issue, but it never came.
Trump responded similarly when asked about his views on the Comstock Act, a 19th century law that has been revived by anti-abortion groups seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone.
Views on IVF
Trump has offered contradictory statements on in vitro fertilization.
During the Fox News town hall, which was taped Tuesday, Trump declared that he is 맥스카지노the father of IVF,맥스카지노 despite acknowledging during his answer that he needed an explanation of IVF in February after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.
Trump said he instructed Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., to 맥스카지노explain IVF very quickly맥스카지노 to him in the aftermath of the ruling.
As concerns over access to fertility treatments rose, Trump pledged to promote IVF by requiring health insurance companies or the federal government to pay for it. Such a move would be at odds with the actions of much of his own party.
Even as the Republican Party has tried to create a national narrative that it is receptive to IVF, these messaging efforts have been undercut by GOP state lawmakers, Republican-dominated courts and anti-abortion leaders within the party맥스카지노s ranks, as well as opposition to legislative attempts to protect IVF access.