Donald Trump has stated that he would vote against an amendment to Florida’s state constitution that would guarantee abortion rights, intensifying a key issue that is energizing Democrats and potentially jeopardizing his bid for the White House.
The former Republican president had previously sent mixed signals and refrained from taking a clear position on the proposed amendment, which is set to appear on the state ballot in November’s election.
However, on Friday, he told Fox News that he would vote “no” on the measure, which seeks to protect abortion rights until fetal viability and would override a law signed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Trump mentioned that while he does not support the six-week ban because “you need more time,” he believes Democrats hold “radical” positions on abortion, citing what he called an extreme scenario of abortion in the ninth month. It’s important to note that only 1 percent of abortions in the U.S. occur after the 21st week of pregnancy.
Trump faces a challenging political balance between maintaining the support of conservative, religious voters who oppose abortion and appealing to moderate and independent voters who support abortion rights.
Since the Supreme Court, with a conservative majority including three justices appointed by Trump, overturned the national right to abortion in 2022, Republicans have been on the defensive over the issue. This decision has led Republican-led state legislatures to enact increasingly strict abortion laws, including Florida’s six-week abortion ban.
Polling consistently shows that most Americans oppose such stringent measures. Democrats, including Trump’s rival in the presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris, have continuously criticized Trump on the issue of abortion rights, warning that other reproductive rights, such as in vitro fertilization and contraception, could be at risk if he is re-elected.
Earlier this week, Trump scrambled to express support for funding IVF procedures and suggested on Thursday that he would vote in Florida to prevent limiting abortion to the first six weeks of pregnancy. However, this statement sparked backlash from the right, leading him to clarify his opposition to the amendment on Friday.
In response, Vice President Kamala Harris stated that Trump’s comments to Fox News on Friday made his stance on abortion clear: he would support an abortion ban so extreme that it applies before many women even know they are pregnant. “I trust women to make their own healthcare decisions and believe the government should never come between a woman and her doctor,” Harris added.
Trump’s difficulty in defining his position on reproductive rights comes after his campaign criticized Harris for shifting her stance on various issues, including healthcare, energy, and immigration, to appeal to centrist voters.
Trump’s latest remarks on abortion were made just hours before he was scheduled to speak at a national conference for Moms for Liberty, a conservative women’s group, in Washington. The Florida-based organization, originally formed to oppose COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates, now campaigns against teaching about LGBT+ identities and structural racism in public schools, among other issues.
Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, told the Financial Times that Trump “really understands and cares about parents and parental rights” and urged those with concerns about his stance on abortion to consider the Democratic party’s positions. She added, “People need to understand, we need to move our country forward, we need to unite to do that, and if there is anything that we can come together on, it should be our children and their health and safety and development.”