Trump promises abortion rights will be decided by states if re-elected, sidestepping national ban

Former President Donald Trump declined to endorse a national abortion ban Monday, instead saying that laws regulating the procedure should be left to the states.

“My view is now that we have abortion where everyone 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,” Trump, 77, said in a video message posted to his Truth Social page.

The 45th president did not specify after how many weeks of pregnancy he believes abortion should be banned.

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“Many states will be different,” Trump added. “Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people.”

In the four-minute address meant to clarify his position on the hot-button issue, Trump boasted that he is “proudly the person responsible” for the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that established the right to abortion nationwide in 2022.

He also thanked the six conservative Supreme Court justices –- three of whom he appointed during his term in office –- for “having the courage for this long-fought battle to end.”

“This 50-year battle over Roe v. Wade took it out of the federal hands and brought it into the hearts, mind and votes of the people in each state — it’s really something,” Trump crowed.

The GOP front-runner had long maintained that doing away with Roe gave pro-life supporters “tremendous power to negotiate.” He said he wanted to use that leverage to strike a deal that he hoped would “make both sides happy” and bring the country “together.”

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The former president maintained that Democrats support abortion “up to and beyond the ninth month” of pregnancy — and “even execution after birth.”

“That’s exactly what it is. The baby is born, the baby is executed after birth,” Trump claimed. “It’s unacceptable and almost everyone agrees with that.”

Trump also reiterated his previously stated support for exceptions to abortion bans in cases of incest, rape and when the life of the mother is in danger — and backed the availability of in vitro fertilization “in every state in America.” 

“Like the overwhelming majority of Americans — including the vast majority of Republicans, conservatives, Christians and pro-life Americans — I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby — what could be more beautiful or better than that?” the dad-of-five said. 

Addressing Republicans, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee said: “You must follow your heart on this issue. But remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, to save our country, which is currently and very sadly a nation in decline.”

Trump said in an interview with WABC radio last month that he was leaning toward supporting a national abortion ban at around 15 weeks of pregnancy.

“The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that,” he said at the time. “And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at.”

However, Trump stopped short of endorsing a federal ban on abortion during that interview as well.

“Everybody agrees — you’ve heard this for years — all the legal scholars on both sides agree: It’s a state issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it’s a state issue,” Trump said.

Since the overturn of Roe, Republicans have grappled with how to approach the abortion issue — which Trump and his allies blamed for GOP candidates performing worse than expected in the 2022 midterm election.

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The former president is reportedly considering abortion stances in deciding who should be his running mate and was criticized by some of his 2024 rivals for declining to back a federal ban.

“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position. Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement.

“Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy,” she added. “If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence also denounced Trump’s stance as a “slap in the face” to pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020.

“Too many Republican politicians are all too ready to wash their hands of the battle for life. Republicans win on life when we speak the truth boldly and stand on the principle that we all know to be true – human life begins at conception and should be defended from womb to tomb. However much our Republican nominee or other candidates seek to marginalize the cause of life, I know pro-life Americans will never relent until we see the sanctity of life restored to the center of American law in every state in this country,” Pence wrote on X.

In a statement Monday, President Biden warned: “Let there be no illusion. If Donald Trump is elected and the MAGA Republicans in Congress put a national abortion ban on the Resolute Desk, Trump will sign it into law.”

Biden added: “The real truth is Trump made a political deal in 2016. He promised to appoint a Court that would get rid of Roe. And he had to make good on that debt. So he did. It was never about public policy or what was right or what Trump believed. It was always about politics.

“Trump admits as much in his statement today. Having created the chaos of overturning Roe, he’s trying to say, ‘Oh, never mind. Don’t punish me for that. I just want to win.’

“Trump is scrambling. He’s worried that since he’s the one responsible for overturning Roe the voters will hold him accountable in 2024. Well, I have news for Donald. They will. America was built on personal freedom and liberty. So, there is nothing more un-American than having our personal freedoms taken away. And that is what Donald Trump has done.

“As I have said many times since the Dobbs decision, Donald Trump and all those responsible for overturning Roe don’t have a clue about the power of women in America. But they are about to find out.”