Former first lady Melania Trump passionately defended a woman’s right to have an abortion, including in the third trimester. This is in direct contradiction to the views of her husband, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to excerpts from her memoir, scheduled to be published in 2016 and released next week.
According to a published report, the former president’s wife said in “Melania” that “women can independently decide whether to have children based on their own beliefs, without interference or pressure from the government.” It is essential to ensure that According to the Guardian on Wednesday.
Melania Trump’s comments are a political bombshell in the final weeks of a presidential campaign in which Donald Trump’s threats against women’s reproductive rights have taken center stage. She rarely appeared in public during her campaign against her husband, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. This race is an unusually close race that could be decided by a small number of voters in a few battleground states.
Shortly after her husband survived an assassination attempt, she attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Two of the former first lady’s most high-profile appearances were as headlining fundraisers, including one at her home in Manhattan’s Trump Tower, where she hosted LGBTQ+ Log Cabin Republicans. Raised millions of dollars for. Her participation in the event raised eyebrows after it was revealed she had received a six-figure payment for her participation, although it is unclear who paid for it.
Melania Trump wrote that she has maintained her belief in women’s right to bodily autonomy all her adult life.
“Why should anyone other than women themselves have the power to decide what to do with their bodies? A woman’s fundamental right to personal freedom over her own life gives her the right to terminate a pregnancy if she wishes. Empowering women,” Trump wrote. “Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying a woman control over her own body.”
Representatives for Trump and her husband did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday night.
The issue has been at the center of American politics since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that recognized the federal government’s right to access abortion. Ads in battleground states like Arizona tell stories of women unable to conceive who were unable to receive timely medical care until their health deteriorated because doctors feared they would run afoul of state law. is published.
ProPublica recently published a report about a Georgia woman who suffered sepsis from fetal tissue that was not expelled from her body after a medical abortion and died without proper medical care.
In addition to the presidential race, the issue is also on the ballot in multiple states and is expected to have a significant impact on determining which party controls the House of Representatives, with the outcome likely to be in Orange County. and suburban women, such as the Washington suburbs. Cities like Philadelphia and Atlanta may have conservative views, but they support access to abortion.
Polls show that a majority of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which overturned Roe, and support abortion rights.
Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School, said Melania Trump’s support for abortion rights means curbing what was once an academic debate but is now a reality. He said it shows why this could be a serious problem for Republicans.
“One of Donald Trump’s biggest impacts is how he changed the Supreme Court and its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. If Kamala Harris wins, it’s because Roe was overturned. Some people say,” she said. “And now we have a first lady who helped overturn Roe by saying she strongly supports a woman’s right to choose. … She’s not the only Republican woman who thinks so.”
The former president has taken dizzying positions on the issue.
In 1999, he described himself as “very pro-choice.” In 2011, when he was considering a run for the White House in 2012 and courting conservatives, he said, “I’m pro-life.” Weeks before winning the 2016 election, he vowed to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling, President Trump has repeatedly changed his message on abortion in response to Republican midterm defeats and widespread public anger and anxiety over the abortion ban, and his former allies in the anti-abortion movement It has irritated me.
In early 2023, President Trump blamed the Republican Party’s lower-than-expected performance in the 2022 midterm elections on the “abortion issue.” Six months later, on the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, he called himself “the most pro-life president in history” and boasted that he had appointed three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe.
Since then, President Trump has gradually distanced himself from such strident anti-abortion rhetoric.
Appearing on “Meet the Press” in September 2023, President Trump called Florida’s six-week abortion ban “a terrible mistake.” He criticized Republicans for pushing for universal abortion bans, including in cases of rape and incest, and vowed to work with Democrats to pass bipartisan national abortion legislation.
“We’re going to make an agreement in weeks, months, or whatever you want to define it,” Trump said. “And both sides will come together, both sides, both sides, this is a big statement, but both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years, there will be an issue that we can put behind us.”
Democrats, from national to state to local races, have taken up reproductive rights issues to get voters to the polls.
“Sadly for women across the country, Mrs. Trump’s husband adamantly disagrees with her views, which is why more than one in three American women have refused Trump abortions, which threaten their health, freedom, and life. That is why we are living under a ban,” said Sarafina Titika. A Harris campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that if he wins in November, he will ban abortions across the country, punish women, and limit women’s access to reproductive health care.”
People who know Trump, whether friendly or hostile to the former first lady, said her views are not surprising.
“She is her own woman and has her own opinions,” said a person with close ties to the Trump campaign who regularly engages with the Trump campaign and requested anonymity to speak candidly. . “I think her and her husband’s worldviews are the same in many ways. Like any human being, there are going to be things that they disagree on. She’s not going to compromise on her beliefs. I think that’s very clear if you look at her entire career trajectory.”
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris shake hands before the start of the September debate.
(Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
Stephanie Grisham, the former first lady’s chief of staff and press secretary turned commentator, said in an interview that she was not surprised by Trump’s conviction, but was surprised by the timing.
“She’s always been very independent and taken care of herself, so the fact that she has a very different position than he does on this issue doesn’t surprise me at all,” the 19-year-old said. said Grisham, who resigned after the riot at the U.S. Capitol. January 6, 2021. “The fact that she chose to share that in her memoir seems strange to me. It’s kind of strange to share that excerpt now and talk about it in her memoir. I don’t know. Perhaps she is trying to appeal to a different audience to sell more copies of the book.
It is not uncommon for presidents or candidates and their spouses to disagree on policy. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, and former Presidents George W. Bush and Laura Bush, disagreed on reproductive rights. Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his late wife Elizabeth had different opinions on same-sex marriage.
Trump’s writings suggest that she has disagreements with her husband on issues such as immigration, but that she wants to address those issues in public.
President Trump said, “While it is part of our relationship that my husband and I occasionally have political disagreements, I do not publicly disagree with him, but instead address them privately.” I believed that the issue should be addressed.”
A notable part of Trump’s book focuses on late-term abortion, which was the flashpoint of the only debate between Donald Trump and Harris, with Republicans arguing against Democrats over the last few months of pregnancy and after childbirth. They claim to support condoning the killing of infants. .
“This is an execution,” President Trump said.
It is illegal in any state to kill a baby after it is born.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, few women have an abortion after the first or second trimester of pregnancy. Less than 1% are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. Such procedures are most often performed due to serious threats to the health of the mother or fetus.
Her views on late-term abortions reflect the reality that women choose this path because of the grave risks to their health and the health of their babies.
“It is important to note that historically, most abortions performed late in pregnancy were due to severe fetal abnormalities, possibly resulting in the death of the child or stillbirth. Possibly death of the mother. Even,” Trump wrote. “These cases were extremely rare and usually occurred after several consultations between the woman and her doctor. As a community, we need to accept these common-sense standards.”
Mehta reported from Los Angeles and Jarvie from Atlanta.
