Former President Trump suggested Tuesday that he would support a ban on abortions at around 15 weeks of pregnancy, touting the time period as a uniting factor for the nation.
“We’re going to come up with a time — and maybe we could bring the country together on that issue,” Trump said while calling into the “Sid & Friends in the Morning” radio show on WABC.
“The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that. And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hardliners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at,” he reasoned.
Pro-life demonstrators listen to then-President Trump at the 47th annual “March for Life” in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 24, 2020. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
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It was the first time Trump has given a specific limit on the controversial procedure.
He also criticized Democrats for not endorsing a ban that would limit abortions in states that still allow the procedure. He also seemed to suggest reluctance to a federal ban.
“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,” he said.
Reports previously claim Trump has discussed having a ban on abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy with three exceptions: rape, incest and the life of the mother.
Trump was vocally pro-life throughout his presidency and has taken credit for his part in overturning Roe v. Wade by appointing three U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
However, he drew backlash after telling NBC News’ Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” in September that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week ban on abortion was “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.
Demonstrators protest outside the Wisconsin Capitol, May 3, 2022, in Madison, Wisconsin. (Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
While he has not officially announced his recommendation for abortion, his stance on the issue illustrates the changing attitudes and strategies among Republicans.
“If the Republicans spoke about it correctly, it never hurt me from the standpoint of elections. It hurt a lot of Republicans,” Trump told host Howard Kurtz on “MediaBuzz” on Sunday. “But I tell people, No. 1, you have to go with your heart. You have to go with your heart. But beyond that, you also have to get elected, and if you don’t have the three exceptions, I think it’s very, very hard to get elected.”
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Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion access has again become a foremost issue for the Democratic Party, with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris focusing a large portion of their 2024 platform on abortion.
Harris became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion facility after touring a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic on Thursday. She said her trip to the clinic was meant in part to draw attention to women who travel from other states to Minnesota to obtain an abortion.
Pro-life activists participate in the 49th annual March for Life as they march past the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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President Biden also made abortion and reproductive rights a cornerstone of his 2024 State of the Union address.
While Democrats are leaning in, President Trump criticized their “radical” stance and urged Republicans to be more comfortable engaging the issue in the run-up to November.
“The Democrats are the radicals on this issue because it’s OK to have an abortion in seven, eight, nine months and even after birth,” Trump told Kurtz.
Fox News’ Aubrie Spady, Joe Schoffstall, Jamie Joseph and Thomas Phippen, as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.
