Hopeful US Presidential candidate and former incumbent Donald Trump said on Sunday that he favours a national ban on abortions, but only after a certain number of weeks. Picture: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
Donald Trump said Sunday he favours a national abortion ban after a certain number of weeks, with exceptions -- but did not confirm how many weeks, leaving his stance on a top US election issue murky.
The former president said that he would "soon" issue a proposal on the number of weeks at which a ban should be implemented, as he spoke to "Fox News Sunday" days after becoming the presumptive Republican nominee for November's White House race.
Trump was asked about a New York Times article from February that said he had told advisers he liked the idea of a 16-week national abortion ban -- with exceptions for rape, incest or the mother's health -- but was hesitant to address it publicly lest he alienate socially conservative supporters.
He did not specify to Fox at what point in a pregnancy he believed abortions should be banned, saying that "in a number of weeks I'll be coming out with a recommendation."
"I think the recommendation will be accepted," Trump said, adding he was proud that his three Supreme Court nominations had shifted the court's balance rightward, allowing it in 2022 to end federally guaranteed abortion rights.
The Supreme Court's shock ruling left it to states to establish their own abortion laws. Some have enacted near-total bans; others, like Maryland, passed laws to enshrine abortion rights. Many conservatives hope a national ban could override laws like Maryland's.
Biden and Democrats have been leaning strongly into the issue -- regularly pointing out that polls show most Americans oppose a federal ban -- and Trump indicated Sunday that he was aware of the political risks involved.
"I think you have to have the three exceptions," he said.
"You have to go with your heart. But beyond that, you also have to get elected, okay. And if you don't have the three exceptions, I think it's very, very hard to get elected."
He noted that in the 2022 midterm elections in the state of Pennsylvania, where exit polls showed abortion to be the leading issue, a Republican candidate for governor who strongly opposed abortion rights was defeated.
Republican losses in other off-year elections, even in normally conservative states like Kansas, have been linked to the abortion issue.
Trump noted bans on abortion after a certain number of weeks do exist elsewhere, notably in France and other European countries.
His former vice president Mike Pence said Sunday that he thought Trump had erred in not taking a firmer anti-abortion position during the 2020 presidential campaign.
Pence, an evangelical Christian who said Friday that he will not endorse his ex-boss, told CBS that he would like to see the Republican candidate support a ban from at least 15 weeks.