Shortly after a Florida court ruled in favor of the state’s 15-week abortion ban, former President Donald Trump hinted towards announcing his potential policy.
While campaigning in Michigan, a reporter asked Trump if he supported Gov. Ron DeSantis’s six-week abortion ban, which was signed into law last year and could go into effect in the coming days.
“We’ll be making a statement next week on abortion. We’re going to make a statement next week on abortion,” Trump said.
Trump’s stance on abortion has never been in line with the traditional view of the Republican party, as he said last September that Florida’s six-week legislation was a “terrible mistake.”
The remarks cost him points among evangelicals and activists who are pushing for stronger restrictions on abortion.
Now, the Florida court decision marks the latest on the practice since June 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the deciding power on abortion to the states.
With the state’s 15-week abortion ban in place, a separate six-week ban will be triggered and take effect on May 1, banning abortion at a point of gestation before many women are even aware they are pregnant.
Trump has continued to dodge questions about abortion over the past year, but now that he is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, many are looking to him to make a decision.
While some have asked him if he would sign a national abortion ban, he has instead claimed he would find a solution to unite the country. Trump has also said he supports abortion exceptions for cases of incest, rape, and the life of the mother.
What’s confused many about Trump’s hesitancy to pick a side on abortion is his boasting about being responsible for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Trump has said he is the reason the ruling went through because he appointed three of the court’s conservative justices.
Following the decision in Florida, the Biden campaign released an ad focusing on Trump’s comments about taking credit for the Supreme Court ruling.
“Donald Trump said that women should be punished for having an abortion, is running on a national ban, and supports cruel state bans like Florida’s,” Biden campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement. “Trump is ‘proud’ he overturned Roe v. Wade, and he is responsible for every extreme abortion ban, every attack on contraception, and every cruel, dangerous restriction placed on women because of it.”