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Screenshot of Trump's video message: Apparently he is concerned with the "will of the people"
Photo: Donald J. Trump For President 2024 / REUTERS
Former US President Donald Trump has advocated leaving abortion regulations to the individual states. The issue should be decided in the states by vote or legislation, said the expected re-election Republican presidential candidate in a video that was published on his online network Truth Social.
Trump thereby indirectly distanced himself from calls from other conservative politicians who advocate a nationwide ban on abortion. In March he called for a nationwide ban on abortions from a certain stage of pregnancy, without specifying from which week of pregnancy the ban should apply. One of the most prominent groups of abortion opponents in the country expressed “deep disappointment” with what they saw as Trump’s positioning, which was too liberal.
Supreme Court decision on abortion highly controversial
Abortion is emerging as one of the central issues of November's presidential election, with Trump likely to face incumbent Joe Biden in a rematch of the 2020 contest. Biden and his Democrats are counting on being able to score points with many voters with their support for liberal abortion rights.
The jurisdiction of the individual states over abortion rights, which Trump is now promoting, has already existed since the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion that had been in force for 50 years in 2022 - a ruling that triggered a political earthquake and left a legal patchwork.
Trump now said in his video: “In my opinion, we have abortion where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint; States will decide.”
It would then be the case that many states would have different regulations as to the week of pregnancy from which abortion is prohibited, and some would be more “conservative” than others. But it's about ensuring that the "will of the people" comes into play.
Trump also repeated earlier statements in the video that, like former Republican President Ronald Reagan, he was strongly in favor of exceptions to a ban on abortion in cases of rape, incest and endangering the life of the mother.
Majority of Americans support abortion rights
At the same time, Trump once again boasted that he was responsible for ending the country's right to abortion. He was referring to the fact that during his presidency he had paved the way for a clear majority of the conservative camp on the Supreme Court by nominating three constitutional judges.
Since the Supreme Court's ruling, around 20 conservative-dominated states have drastically restricted or abolished the right to abortion. This caused a lot of discontent and outrage.
Surveys show that a clear majority of citizens support the right to abortion. In addition, supporters of liberal abortion rights have achieved success in several referendums since the Supreme Court ruling. The abortion issue also contributed significantly to the Democrats' success in the 2022 congressional elections and other elections.
czl/AFP/dpa