Trump 'would not support nationwide abortion ban in US', running mate JD Vance says
25 August 2024, 20:32
Donald Trump would veto any federal abortion ban that Congress passed if he is re-elected as president in November, his running mate JD Vance has claimed.
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Mr Vance told NBC's Meet the Press that he can "absolutely commit that" Mr Trump would not impose a ban on terminating pregnancies in the US.
Reproductive issues have been at the centre of the US presidential election, as Democrats seeks to drive a wedge between them and Republicans by pitching themselves as the protectors of abortion rights.
At last week's Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris's party made several references to the Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v Wade.
Mr Vance adding: “Donald Trump’s view is that we want the individual states and their individual cultures and their unique political sensibilities to make these decisions because we don’t want to have a non-stop federal conflict over this issue.”
When pressed, he concluded: “I mean, if you’re not supporting it as the president of the United States, you fundamentally have to veto it."
Mr Trump wrote on “My administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” he wrote on Friday on his Truth Social platform, appropriating language used by abortion rights activists and the left.
His comments drew a wave of criticism from anti-abortion advocates, including the editor of the conservative National Review, which published an article titled “Trump’s Abandonment of Pro-Lifers Is Complete”.
Democrats have responded to Mr Trump’s claims with deep scepticism.
“American women are not stupid and we are not going to trust the futures of our daughters and granddaughters to two men who have openly bragged about blocking access to abortion for women all across this country,” said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren told NBC.
Mr Trump has often struggled to talk about abortion.
Before he entered politics, he had described himself as “very pro-choice”.
Earlier this year, he grappled with his stance on a federal abortion ban, suggesting at one point that he would support one at around 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at risk.
He then settled on his current position: That restrictions should be left to individual states.
Mr Trump has not said how he plans to vote on an upcoming ballot measure on Florida’s six-week ban.
