Following backlash from anti-abortion supporters, former president Donald Trump is reversing his stance on Florida’s six-week abortion ban, promising to uphold it, just one day after he suggested he would support a measure that seeks to repeal it.
Trump, who has previously criticized the ban, reiterated his stance in an interview with Fox News on Friday, saying, “I think six weeks, you need more time.”
However, he added, “At the same time, the Democrats are radical,” and repeated misleading claims about late-term abortions, emphasizing his opposition to abortions up to nine months.
“So I’ll be voting 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 up until fetal viability, which healthcare providers generally define as around 23 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
On Thursday, Trump said “I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks,” seeming to express support for repealing the six-week ban and sparking backlash from anti-abortion supporters.
Following criticism, his campaign quickly clarified that Trump had not specifically stated his voting intention.
The former president’s position on abortion has fluctuated over the years. While he briefly considered endorsing a nationwide 15-week abortion ban, he ultimately declared in April that the decision should be left to individual states.
Since then, he has often taken credit for the Supreme Court 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 it applies before many women even know they are pregnant.”
With News Wire Services