Donald Trump has sparked an angry response from some conservatives as he unveiled his position on abortion rights on Monday.
The Context
Abortion has proven an electorally troublesome issue for the Republicans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The issue was widely linked to the GOP under-performing in the November 2022 midterm elections and Trump is under pressure to neutralize its impact before the presidential election.
What We Know
In a video released on his Truth Social website on Monday, Trump said he supports individual states crafting their own policies surrounding reproductive rights, noting that states will be "different" on the issue.
"My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by votes or legislature 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's abortion position contradicts that of the Republican Study Group, which in March released a document calling for a 15-week national abortion ban. Just under 80 percent of House Republicans are affiliated with the RSG.
Trump also explicitly spoke out in defense of IVF treatment after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos were the legal equivalent of children. This led to treatments being paused in the state, though the Alabama legislature later passed a new law protecting doctors involved with IVF from lawsuits or prosecution.
The presumptive 2024 Republican nominee said: "We want to make it easier for mothers and families to have babies, not harder. That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every state in America...I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby."
During his address Trump falsely claimed Democrats support abortion after birth, commenting: "It must be remembered the Democrats are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month.
"The concept of having an abortion in the later months and even execution after birth and that's exactly what it is. The baby is born the baby is executed after birth."
There is no evidence that any Democrat of any note supports the execution of babies after they are born.
Views
After Trump teased his announcement on Sunday, Matt Walsh, a right-wing political activist, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "There is no such thing as 'abortion rights.' Rights are God given and God does not give anyone the right, under any circumstance, to kill children."
John Hasson, a self-described "very Catholic" writer, added: "The phrase 'abortion rights' is a really bad sign here..."
Gene Church, a "DeSantis Republican," shared a screenshot of Trump's Truth Social teaser adding: "There's no such thing as 'Abortion Rights.' Trump is a liar."
The official X account for Protestia, a website which claims to be "dedicated to providing Christian news and discernment," also shared the screenshot and commented: "This is a trash take by Trump and demonstrates how ferociously he must be opposed on the issue of abortion.
"He employs the language that child-murderers use... Trump speaks of failure, death, and destruction for the nation, but how can a nation succeed, live, and build on the backs of broken baby skulls and the slurry of blood and bone?"
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign for comment by email.
In a statement provided to Newsweek, Mini Timmaraju, president of abortion rights group Reproductive Freedom for All, said: "Trump is a liar who orchestrated the end of Roe v. Wade—and he's so proud of it that he bragged about it again in his statement. 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.
"He's 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. The stakes couldn't be higher, and we need to elect reproductive freedom majorities in Congress and send President Biden and Vice President Harris back to the White House to restore the federal right to abortion and expand access."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more
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