Women who have illegal abortions should be punished, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said on Wednesday. Trump was asked by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews to define his “pro-life” stance and assertions that abortion should be banned.
“Do you believe in punishment for abortion – yes or no – as a principle?” asked Matthews, during the taping of a town hall event.
“The answer is there has to be some form of punishment,” said Trump.
“For the woman?” Matthews said.
“Yeah, there has to be some form,” Trump replied.
“Ten cents, 10 years, what?” Matthews asked again, pressing.
“That I don’t know,” said Trump.
Asked about a ban, the Republican frontrunner said that people would circumvent it: “Well, you go back to a position like they had where they would perhaps go to illegal places, but we have to ban it.” 'No hate in our state': undercover protesters take on Trump in Wisconsin Read more
The 90-second exchange is likely to inflame Democratic pro-choice advocates, Republicans who have criticized Trump for flip-flopping on the issue, and anti-abortion advocates who may call Trump’s comments a misunderstanding of their stance.
In a 1999 interview, Trump described himself as “pro-choice in every respect”, and also said he would not “ban abortion” if he was ever elected president. But his position as a presidential candidate has changed starkly.
Trump later tried to clarify his position in a statement, but stopped short of retracting his view stated on MSNBC that women should be punished.
However, Trump seemed to acknowledge that the establishment of any anti-abortion law would fall to Congress or state legislatures.
“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. 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,” the statement said.
Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton called the comments “horrific and telling”.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political arm of America’s best-known abortion provider, said the statements were tantamount to an incitement of violence.
The Susan B Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, attempted to clarify the position of the anti-abortion lobby, calling Trump a “convert” to the movement.
“[Let] us be clear: punishment is solely for the abortionist who profits off of the destruction of one life and the grave wounding of another,” said president Marjorie Dannenfelser in a statement.
The exchange prompted immediate questions for other Republican candidates about how they would enforce an “abortion ban”.
Ohio governor and Republican nominee hopeful John Kasich told Chuck Todd the same afternoon that punishing women who have illegal abortions, in the hypothetical situation that there were a ban, was not “an appropriate response”.
Poster Comment:
Why didn't Trump think to say it's a state's rights issue, not a POTUS issue. This is really going to add fuel to the misogynist fire. He has got to be more prepared with his answers to questions like these.