In her upcoming memoir, former First Lady Melania Trump writes that she is a passionate supporter of a woman’s right to control her own body, including the right to get an abortion.
The revelation comes as her husband, former President Donald Trump, continues to be hammered by his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, over his role in overturning Roe v Wade and the outline to restrict abortion revealed in Project 2025, which Harris maintains comes from Trump despite his repeated denials.
In her memoir, Melania Trump writes that it’s “imperative” to guarantee women have “autonomy in deciding their preference of having children,” according to The Guardian, which obtained a copy of the book.
She writes that it should be “based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government.”
“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” she wrote. “Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body. I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.”
The book, ‘Melania,’ is set to be published next Tuesday and is a first for the former first lady, who rarely voices her political views publicly but makes her feelings evident on the issue.
“I have always believed it is critical for people to take care of themselves first,” Melania Trump writes. “It’s a very straightforward concept; in fact, we are all born with a set of fundamental rights, including the right to enjoy our lives. We are all entitled to maintain a gratifying and dignified existence.
“This common-sense approach applies to a woman’s natural right to make decisions about her own body and health.”
She then went on to say that “timing matters” while offering a defense for late-term abortions.
“It is important to note that historically, most abortions conducted during the later stages of pregnancy were the result of severe fetal abnormalities that probably would have led to the death or stillbirth of the child,” she writes, the Guardian reports. “Perhaps even the death of the mother. These cases were extremely rare and typically occurred after several consultations between the woman and her doctor. As a community, we should embrace these common-sense standards. Again, timing matters.”
The CDC reports that more than 90% of abortions occur at or before 13 weeks, with less than 1% taking place at or after 21 weeks.
His wife's stance is especially interesting considering that Trump often takes credit for the 2022 Supreme Court case of Dobbs v Jackson, which struck down Roe v Wade and removed the federal protections for abortion for the first time since 1973.
Trump had appointed three conservative justices to the court during his time in office and they're the ones who made the decision. However, both he and his vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), have said they would not take the issue any further, arguing it’s a state’s rights issue. Vance has said Trump would not sign a federal abortion ban if it made its way through Congress, although the man himself did not confirm what Vance said.
As for her other political opinions in the book, the former first lady wrote that she also disagrees with her husband on some aspects of his immigration policy.
“Occasional political disagreements between me and my husband,” she says, are “part of our relationship, but I believed in addressing them privately rather than publicly challenging him.”
Trump reportedly provides a blurb in the memoir, praising his wife’s “commitment to excellence,” “insightful perspective,” and “entrepreneurial achievements.”