Trump says he is 'Pro-Life' but favors exceptions for rape, incest
'PRO-LIFE.' US President Donald Trump calls himself "pro-life" amid backlash from several states' newly passed anti-abortion laws. File photo by Doug Mills/POOL/AFP
WASHINGTON, United States – President Donald Trump on Saturday, May 18, declared himself "strongly Pro-Life" but in favor of exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, after several states in the United States passed tough new restrictions on abortions.
The US president spelled out his position on abortion, set to be a hot-button issue at next year's election, days after Alabama's governor signed the country's most restrictive law – enacting a near-total prohibition even in cases of rape and incest.
"As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly Pro-Life, with the 3 exceptions – rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan," tweeted Trump.
....Federal Judges (many more to come), two great new Supreme Court Justices, the Mexico City Policy, and a whole new & positive attitude about the Right to Life. The Radical Left, with late term abortion (and worse), is imploding on this issue. We must stick together and Win....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
Trump, a bombastic, twice-divorced billionaire, won over the evangelical vote during his 2016 campaign by promising to appoint anti-abortion justices at the Supreme Court. (READ: Will the US Supreme Court reconsider abortion rights?)
He has since brought two conservative appointees to the highest court in the land – Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – shifting the balance of the 9-person bench.
American evangelicals now have high hopes that the court will chip away at its historic 1973 US decision to legalize abortion.
In addition to Alabama, the Missouri legislature this week made abortions illegal from 8 weeks of pregnancy.
Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota have enacted laws banning abortion from the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The bans are expected to be blocked in court, but supporters plan to appeal such decisions until they reach the Supreme Court, in hopes this will lead to the long-sought conservative goal of overturning the abortion ruling, known as Roe v Wade.
Roe v Wade guarantees women's rights to abortion as long as the fetus is not viable – around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Trump has also called for a congressional ban on late-term abortions, as he seeks to expand on his conservative support ahead of his re-election bid.
"The Radical Left, with late term abortion (and worse), is imploding on this issue," he tweeted late Saturday. "We must stick together and Win for Life in 2020." – Rappler.com
