Donald Trump is taking back a statement he made about abortion Wednesday during an MSNBC town hall. While speaking with Chris Matthews, the Republican frontrunner said if the procedure is ever outlawed in the United States, there has to be "some form of punishment" for women who have abortions illegally.
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump's campaign e-mailed a statement to Bloomberg Politics, saying the "issue is unclear and should be put back into the state for determination. Like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions, which I have outlined numerous times." Later in the afternoon, Trump released an additional statement clarifying his new position. "If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman," he said. "The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed — like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions."
His earlier statement was condemned by organizations on both sides of the abortion debate, with Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, saying in a statement that "no pro-lifer would ever want to punish a woman who has chosen abortion. This is against the very nature of what we are about."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Marie Antoinette Style at the V&A: a ‘magnificent’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends The UK’s first show dedicated solely to the French queen explores the complex woman behind the ‘bling’
-
8 riveting museum exhibitions on view in the fallThe Week Recommends See Winslow Homer rarities and Black art reimagined
-
Crossword: September 18, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
