Pro-life activists try to block the sign of a pro-choice activist during the 2018 March for Life January 19, 2018 in Washington, DC.
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President Donald Trump on Sunday said he supports exceptions that would allow abortion in the cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is in danger, putting him at odds with a recent raft of anti-abortion legislation passed by states including Alabama.
The president maintained that he is strongly pro-life despite supporting certain exceptions to anti-abortion laws. He cited his appointment of two Supreme Court justices and many federal judges as wins for the pro-Life movement.
He called for the movement to stay united ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s statement comes as a number of states that supported him in the 2016 presidential election have passed legislation that would severely restrict abortion.
Alabama’s governor recently signed legislation that would effectively ban abortion. The legislation did not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
In Missouri, lawmakers recently passed legislation that would ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The legislation made no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
Conservative states have moved to pass restrictive anti-abortion legislation in the hopes that court challenges will also lead to a ruling by the Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion.
Conservative activists hope that the Supreme Court, which now has a 5-4 conservative majority, will overturn Roe.
