‘Fundamental right’: Melania Trump passionately defends abortion in new memoir
The former first lady has passionately defended a woman’s right to an abortion – a “sharp poke in the eye” to her husband’s presidential campaign.
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Melania Trump has passionately defended a woman’s right to an abortion, a surprising declaration that pundits have deemed a “sharp poke in the eye” to both Republicans and her husband’s presidential campaign.
In an excerpt of her forthcoming memoir published by The Guardian, the notoriously private former first lady writes that “it is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, 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?” Ms Trump continues.
The 54-year-old’s full-throated support of women’s reproductive rights is at odds with the views of her husband, Donald Trump, who is running on an anti-abortion platform and whose last presidency was instrumental to the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade.
“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.”
Though not in office at the time of the landmark ruling, Mr Trump has repeatedly boasted about installing three Supreme Court justices who voted to strike the law, which had protected federal abortion rights since 1973, down.
In Republican-run states, abortion bans have become increasingly draconian – making a woman’s right to choose a critical, if not the most important, issue for many voters ahead of November’s election.
On social media, US political commentators were quick to point out the stark contrast in the Trumps’ stances on the matter.
“In her new memoir, Melania Trump gives anti-abortion Republicans a sharp poke in the eye as her husband desperately needs their votes,” former conservative Matthew Sheffield wrote on X.
While Mr Trump said in September he would not sign a federal abortion ban (but would vote ‘no’ to protecting them in Florida, where he resides), his running mate, JD Vance, has indicated he would stand in support of one.
The former venture capitalist and (possible) future vice president’s views on issues affecting women are unambiguous.
“There’s something comparable between abortion and slavery, and that while the people who obviously suffer the most are those subjected to it, I think it has this morally distorting effect on the entire society,” Mr Vance told the Catholic Current in October 2021.
Mr Vance added that Americans had “begun to see children as inconveniences to be discarded, instead of blessings to cherish”.
Another “inconvenience”, according to Mr Vance, is rape. In an interview with Columbus’ Spectrum News in September 2021, he said abortion laws should not make allowances for sexual assault or incest.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right. It’s not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term, it’s whether a child should be allowed to live, even though the circumstances of that child’s birth are somehow inconvenient or a problem to the society,” Mr Vance said.
“The question to me is really about the baby. We want women to have opportunities, we want women to have choices, but, above all, we want women and young boys in the womb to have a right to life.”
According to The Guardian, which obtained a copy of Ms Trump’s eponymous book ahead of its release next Tuesday, she does note that her views on abortion and reproductive rights are diametrically opposed to those of her husband and his party.
Ms Trump writes her beliefs spring from “a core set of principles”, at the heart of which sits “individual liberty” and “personal” freedom – on which there is “no room for negotiation”.
She also details the “legitimate reasons” a woman may have for terminating a pregnancy, including rape, incest and danger to the life of the mother.
“Commonsense standards” should also be applied, Ms Trump argues, in the “extremely rare” event an abortion needs to be “conducted during the later stages of pregnancy”.
“Historically, most … were the result of severe foetal abnormalities that probably would have led to the death or stillbirth of the child. Perhaps even the death of the mother,” she adds.
“These cases were extremely rare and typically occurred after several consultations between the woman and her doctor. As a community, we should embrace these commonsense standards. Again, timing matters.”
Ms Trump then appeals for compassion for women “confronted with an unexpected pregnancy”.
“Our next generation must be provided with knowledge, security, safety and solace, and the cultural stigma associated with abortion must be lifted.”
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