President Trump urged Republicans to stay “UNITED” on abortion in series of tweets late Saturday night and wrote that he is “strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions – Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother.” The tweets come just days after Alabama passed the country’s most restrictive abortion law, which bans the procedure unless “abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk” to the woman.
Mr. Trump tweeted “we have come very far in the last two years” by appointing 105 federal judges, but “we must stick together and win … for Life in 2020.”
“If we are foolish and do not stay UNITED as one, all of our hard fought gains for Life can, and will, rapidly disappear!” Mr. Trump wrote.
The tweet did not mention the Alabama law specifically but appears to be odds with it, since that law effectively criminalizes abortion and does not make any exceptions for rape and incest. So far, he has remained silent on the Alabama law.
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In the past, Mr. Trump has railed against late-term abortions, even falsely claiming at a Wisconsin rally last month that doctors “execute” babies after they are born, but his stance on abortion has never been totally clear. Mr. Trump said at 2016 debate with Hillary Clinton that he would appoint pro-life judges so the laws would go back to the states to decide.
But in April 2016, he told CBS News’ John Dickerson on “Face the Nation” he thinks it would “be better if it was left up to the states.” But, he said, “at this moment, the laws are set. I think we should keep it that way.”
A number of states have either passed or moved toward passing restrictive abortion laws in recent weeks, setting up possible court battles that could call the landmark Roe v. Wade decision into question. The Supreme Court has declined in recent years to take up abortion cases, but anti-abortion activists feel emboldened by the recent wave of conservative judges appointed.
In addition to the Alabama law, Georgia Gov. Kemp earlier this month signed into law the state’s “fetal heartbeat bill,” a piece of legislation that would prohibit abortion after a heartbeat is detected in an embryo, which is usually around six weeks. And Missouri and Louisiana are both moving forward on restrictive abortion bans as well.
