When former President Donald Trump announced his stance on abortion on April 8, he framed the Republican Party as largely pro-life in opposition to Democrat President Joe Biden’s more pro-abortion position.
President Trump declared: “Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, and healthy American families.” He also said the GOP “should always be on the side of the miracle of life” and on the side of the mothers, fathers, and “beautiful babies.”
His policy position includes supporting couples who seek fertility help through procedures such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF). He also said that abortion policy should be decided by “the will of the people” in each U.S. state, telegraphing how he would handle the sensitive issue if he won reelection.
President Trump reiterated his past statements that, like former Republican President Ronald Reagan, he agrees that abortions should be permitted in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the expectant mother is at risk.
The Biden campaign, in an emailed statement attributed to President Biden, accused President Trump of pursuing a hidden agenda to outlaw abortion nationwide if he and his supporters win control of the White House and Congress. The Biden campaign also alleged that President Trump’s leadership on the issue is responsible for some Republican-dominant states enacting “extreme and dangerous bans” that endanger women.
However, President Trump declared that Democrats are the ones who harbor extremist views on abortion. He said “radical” Democrats support abortion at any stage of pregnancy “and even after birth,” he said, adding, “the baby is born; the baby is executed.” He called that practice “unacceptable” and said “almost everyone” agrees with that opinion.
President Trump took credit for appointing conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who ruled in the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case in 2022. That decision overturned the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade precedent, which guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide. As a result, individual states must decide abortion regulations; President Trump said the Dobbs decision therefore embodies the correct course for the nation on this emotionally charged issue.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint,” President Trump said—states will decide “by vote or legislation or perhaps both” how to regulate abortion.
“And whatever they decide must be the law of the land; in this case, the law of the state,” President Trump said.
Ultimately, each person involved in an abortion is making a highly personal decision, President Trump acknowledged.
“You must follow your heart—or in many cases, your religion or your faith,” he said, urging people: “Do what’s right for your family and do what’s right for yourself. Do what’s right for your children. Do what’s right for our country.”
The Biden campaign said that President Trump’s anti-Roe stance is “responsible for creating the cruelty and chaos that has enveloped America since the Dobbs decision.”
“Here’s what Donald Trump doesn’t understand: When he ripped away Roe v. Wade, he ripped away a fundamental right for the women of America that the United States Supreme Court had affirmed and reaffirmed for 50 years,” the Biden campaign said. “As a fundamental right, it didn’t matter where you lived. It was granted to you as an American, not as a resident of any state.”
President Biden also said he was “determined to restore the federal protections of Roe v. Wade” and “the fundamental right to choose for women.”
In ending his video statement, President Trump encouraged people to vote based on their conscience. He also called for Americans to unify for the nation’s sake.
“You must follow your heart on this issue. But remember, you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, to save our country, which is currently and very sadly, a nation in decline,” he said. "Our nation needs help. It needs unity. It needs us all to work closely together.
“Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative—everyone—we have to work together,” President Trump said. “We have to bring our nation back from the brink...and we will do it; I promise you, we will do it.”
