Donald Trump said he still believes abortion laws should be determined by the states, and did not address the issue of a national ban on abortion.
In a video posted on his social media platform, the former US president said he supported exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. He also reiterated that he supports the availability of in-vitro fertilisation.
He did not say that he would seek a national ban on abortion if he is returned to the White House, with the issue likely to galvanise voters of both political parties in November’s presidential election.
Mr Trump said he was responsible for the 2022 Supreme Court decision ending a federal right to the procedure, alluding to his conservative picks for the US high court.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both,” he said in his video.
“And whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state.”
He did not specify a week at which he would support a ban on abortion.
He had suggested in a radio interview last month that he was leaning toward supporting a national abortion ban at around 15 weeks of pregnancy, which is early in the second trimester.
“The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that,” he said on WABC radio.
“And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at.”
At the same time, Mr Trump seemed reluctant to embrace a federal ban.
“Everybody agrees — you’ve heard this for years — all the legal scholars on both sides agree: It’s a state issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it’s a state issue,” he said.
Since launching his campaign in late 2022, Mr Trump has largely shied away from the topic of abortion.
The Republican Party has struggled to articulate a message to stop the political fallout after the 2022 ruling overturning the 1973 landmark Roe v Wade decision.
That move was made possible by Mr Trump’s appointment of three conservative justices to the court while president from 2017 to 2021.
The reversal triggered a voter backlash that was widely credited with curbing Republican gains in the 2022 congressional mid-term elections and propelling Democrats to victories in some state elections last year.
While Americans tend to accept restrictions on abortion after the first trimester, polls also show that a sizable majority prefer to have the decision made by the patient and her doctor, not the government.
Reuters/AP