Former President Trump on Tuesday signaled he is open to getting states to restrict access to birth control, and suggested his campaign plans to unveil a “very comprehensive policy” soon.
In an interview with Pittsburgh’s KDKA, when asked if he supported restricting individual rights to contraception, Trump did not deny it.
“We’re looking at that and we’re going to have a policy on that in the near future. I think it will be of interest to you,” he said.
Asked if that meant he would be tolerant of states banning certain types of birth control, such as Plan B or the “morning-after pill,” Trump said he supported leaving the decision up to the states. .
“It’s really a state-by-state thing and some states are going to have different policies than other states,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said, adding that details would be known “within a week or so.”
Trump has a history of dodging uncomfortable questions, saying he would have a plan in “two weeks.”
in an interview President Trump told Time magazine last month that “significant statements” regarding mail-in abortion pills and enforcement of the Comstock Act would be released “in the next 14 days.”
When a reporter followed up by phone two weeks later, Trump again said a statement would be released “within the next week or two.”
President Trump has long avoided commenting directly on key policy issues such as abortion and contraception that have vexed Republicans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Still, Trump regularly takes credit for the decision and did so again Tuesday.
“We did what everyone wanted: we eliminated Roe v. Wade,” Trump said.
However, the former president declined to say how much he would restrict abortion rights if he returns to the White House next year. He dodged a question Tuesday about whether he would veto a nationwide abortion ban, saying, “I don’t see any reason to do that.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, President Trump emphasized that he would “never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control.”
President Trump has taken the position that abortion policy should be left to each state. But it also drew attacks from some on the right who expressed disappointment that the former president had not accepted federal minimum standards for abortion.
President Biden and his campaign are sounding the alarm about what a second term for President Trump could mean for women and reproductive rights, with a spokesperson for the Biden-Harris campaign saying Trump’s comments were He said it clearly shows that they are targeting contraception.
“Women across the country are already suffering from President Donald Trump’s post-Roe nightmare, and if he wins a second term, we would like to limit access to birth control and emergency contraception,” Sarafina Titika said in a statement. It’s clear that we want to go even further.”
“For President Trump, it’s not enough that women’s lives are in jeopardy, doctors are threatened with prison terms, and extreme bans on rape and incest are enacted with no exceptions. He wants to protect our birth control. They are also trying to take away their freedom,” Chitika said.
Updated at 2:16pm ET
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