This Monday, Republican candidate Donald Trump broke his silence on one of the issues that most divides Republicans, the right to abortion. In a four-minute video published on his Truth Social platform, he said that the decision should remain in the hands of the states, positioning himself against the national ban that many in his party defend. Since the Supreme Court, with three judges appointed by Trump himself, repealed federal abortion protections in 2022, its legality depends on the government and courts of each state.
"My opinion is that now that we have abortion where everyone wanted it legally, the states will determine it by vote or legislation, or maybe both. And what they decide should be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state," said the former president, after months giving ambiguous signals about his position. "It will vary depending on each state: it will be banned for a different number of weeks, some will be more conservative than others, and that's how it should be. At the end of the day, it's about the will of the people."
Trump, who has earned the medal of being "the person proudly responsible" for the repeal of the Roe v Wade ruling in 2022, has also clarified that the abortion ban must have exceptions "in cases of incest, rape and when the life of the mother is in danger." "Republicans, and everyone else, must follow their hearts and minds, but remember that, as Ronald Reagan said before me, I, and most other Republicans, believe in these exceptions," he said.
Until now, the magnate had tried to maintain his ambiguity on an issue that could be decisive in the November presidential elections. His rival in the elections, Democrat Joe Biden, has made the protection of abortion one of the central issues of his campaign and defends the restoration of the right to abortion at the national level.
The unpopular bans that Republicans have enacted in dozens of states since the repeal of Roe v Wade have come at a political cost to the party. It was especially visible in the midterm elections, in October 2022, when they obtained worse results than usual for an opposition party, with several candidates who defended a national ban on abortion being defeated.
This issue will be back on the ballot in November. In Florida, the state Supreme Court ruled last week in favor of the ban on abortion after six weeks of gestation, approved last year by the Republican-majority Congress. The ban will come into force on May 1 and will replace the current one after 15 weeks of gestation. The state's highest court also decided that abortion will be on the ballot on November 5 so that Florida citizens can decide if they prefer the current ban after 15 weeks, the one approved after 6, or protect abortion again.
Biden described as "outrageous" the Supreme Court's decision not to block the measure promoted by the ultra-conservative governor of Florida, former Republican candidate Ron DeSantis. "Florida's bans, as well as proposals by Republican elected officials across the country, are putting the health and lives of millions of women at risk," she said in a statement: "These extreme laws take away women's freedom to make their own decisions about medical care and threaten doctors with prison sentences simply for providing medical care," he added.
One of the main conservative anti-abortion groups, Susan B. Antony Pro-Life America, has released a statement criticizing Trump's position this Monday. "We are deeply disappointed," said its president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, "Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national defense against the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision – which overturned Roe v Wade – allows clearly act both to the states and to Congress. And she added that "saying the issue" returns to the states "gives the national debate to the Democrats."
The former president, who has gotten rid of all internal opposition in the Republican primary process, had avoided speaking out on the matter so as not to alienate his most conservative voters, among whom he maintains the image of an anti-abortion leader. But, following the Florida Supreme Court's decision, he has increased pressure on his voters to clarify his position.
"You must follow your heart on this issue. But remember, we must also win elections to restore our culture and, indeed, to save our country, which is currently a nation in decline."
