Former President Donald Trump says he’s leaning toward supporting a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a move that could raise the profile of the controversial issue in his coming battle with President Biden.
Trump, who has previously said abortion is a political “loser” for Republicans, suggested that such a restriction might win support among voters.
“The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15, and I’m thinking in terms of that,” Trump said Tuesday in an interview on WABC radio. “It’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable.”
He said he plans to support a specific proposal on abortion “at the appropriate time,” which would be a shift from his past stance of dodging the issue.
“We’re going to come up with a time — and maybe we could bring the country together on that issue,” Trump added.
Trump has credited himself for the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide.
But he has struggled to come up with a position going forward now that individual states and the federal government are free to pass whatever restrictions on the procedure they see fit.
The former president reportedly has told associates recently he favored a 16-week ban, which he called a “round number” because it amounts to four weeks.
“Even hard-liners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at,” Trump said.
Contrary to Trump’s claim, most Republican-run states have moved to impose much stricter anti-abortion laws since the Supreme Court ruling, with many banning the practice altogether or after six weeks of pregnancy.
Virginia Republicans lost control of both state houses last year after Gov. Glenn Youngkin championed a similar 15-week ban that he framed as a compromise.
Many like Texas and most southern states do not include exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the mother, leading to a string of horror stories involving pregnant women being forced to flee their states to seek abortion care.
The top court is also separately considering a push to ban the abortion medication mifepristone, an action that would also effectively impose a pro-life stance on the entire nation.
The threats to abortion rights could be a huge boon to Democrats, who believe the right to choose is a powerful issue to energize their base of supporters in the November presidential election.
Abortion rights supporters have reeled off a string of shocking political victories since the Supreme Court decision, including wins in red states like Kansas and Ohio. Many pundits believe the issue helped Democrats stave off a major defeat in the midterm congressional elections.
