The right to abortion should be left to the decision of each state government in the United States, Republican candidate Donald Trump said on Monday, while rejecting
a law that would ban the practice at the federal level
after contradictory messages on this
key issue of facing the presidential elections in November
.
"A lot of people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights. My opinion is that now that we have abortion where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine it by vote or legislation or maybe both," Trump said, in a video posted on his Truth social network.
"And what they decide should be the law of the land, in this case, the law of the state."
These words come after
questions arose for weeks about what his position
on the issue would be after The New York Times published in February that he had told his advisers that he liked
the idea of a federal ban on abortion starting in the 16 weeks
, but he hesitated to make it public so as not to upset his more conservative followers.
The right to abortion should be left to the decision of each state government in the United States, says Trump: Alex Wroblewski / AFP
A ruling by the United States Supreme Court - promoted by three Trump nominees -
left it up to the states in 2022 to legislate on this issue.
Some have enacted
near-total bans on abortion
, while others, like Maryland,
passed laws to legalize it.
Many conservatives hope that a federal ban
could overturn laws like Maryland's.
Trump's rival for the White House, US President Joe Biden, and Democrats regularly remind each other that polls show a majority of Americans
oppose a federal ban.
Bad drink for Republicans
Republicans have suffered several electoral defeats, including in states considered conservative, such as Arkansas, which have been linked to the party's opposing position against abortion.
In his video, Trump said he was "firmly in favor of
exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother
," an idea that was already made public by former Republican President Ronald Reagan (1981-89).
And he again said that
he "firmly" supports access to in vitro fertilization
for "couples who are trying to have a beautiful baby. What could be more beautiful or better than that?" he said.
With information from EFE and Associated Press