Following backlash from anti-abortion supporters is former President Donald Trump reverses position on Florida’s six-week abortion ban, vowed to uphold it, just a day after he suggested he would support a measure aimed at repealing it.
Trump, who has previously criticized the ban, reiterated his position in an interview with Fox News on Friday, saying: “I think six weeks you need more time.”
But he added, “At the same time, Democrats are radicals,” and repeated misleading claims about late-term abortions, emphasizing his opposition to abortions up to nine months.
“So I’m going to vote no for that reason,” said Trump, who is registered to vote in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Under the Florida ballot measure, abortions would be allowed until fetal viability, which health care providers generally define as about 23 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
On Thursday, Trump said “I’m going to vote because we need more than six weeks,” appearing to express support for overturning the six-week ban and sparking backlash from anti-abortion supporters.
After criticism, his campaign quickly clarified that Trump had not specifically stated his voting intention.
The former president’s the position on abortion has fluctuated through the years. While he briefly considered approving a nationwide 15-week abortion ban, he ultimately declared in April that the decision should be left up to individual states.
Since then, he has often taken credit for the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, describing it as “a beautiful thing to watch.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, responded to Trump’s comments on Friday, saying: “Donald Trump just made his position on abortion very clear: He will vote to uphold an abortion ban so extreme that it applies before many women even know they are pregnant.”
With News Wire Services