Donald Trump, the Republican White House nominee, has faced backlash for publicly backing away from right-wing views on reproductive rights. He announced in a second term that he would ensure free in vitro fertilization (IVF), an expensive procedure that many in the anti-abortion movement want curbed. Trump also criticized Florida’s six-week abortion ban, calling it too restrictive and suggesting he would vote for a ballot measure to make the procedure legal until a fetus becomes viable.
Trump, 78, walked back the comment ahead of a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Friday, telling Fox News that “I will be voting no.”
But conservatives had already begun criticizing Trump’s ever-shifting positions on abortion, with a new Republican policy platform dropping calls for a national ban and the tycoon’s recent claim that his government would be “great” for reproductive rights.
The pushback from anti-abortion groups on his latest remarks was swift, with activists warning that he risks alienating his base.
Evangelical theologian Albert Mohler said Trump’s positions appeared “almost calculated to alienate pro-life voters” while conservative commentator Erick Erickson posted that Trump’s abortion stance “will be a bridge too far for too many.”
Trump’s rally, in Johnstown, was notable for the absence of any remarks on reproductive rights, despite Thursday’s big IVF announcement.
The campaign of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris was happy to weigh in on the issue, smelling blood in the water.
“The majority of Americans support abortion access, they support IVF, they support contraception,” Mini Timmaraju, of the Reproductive Freedom for All lobby group, told reporters in a campaign call.
“(Trump) has finally figured it out, and he’ll do anything to distract from his abysmal, horrifying record on this issue.”
Trump has been controversial on abortion for the past 15 years, initially describing himself as “pro-choice” but later calling for punishment for women seeking the procedure. He has appointed Supreme Court justices who ended federal protections for abortion access in 2022, but has now begun to worry that Republicans are out of step with the majority of voters on reproductive rights.
Trump’s IVF pledge may upset conservatives who opposed Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act due to the redistributive economics of taxpayer-funded health insurance. Almost every Senate Republican voted against assuring IVF access in June, and more than half of the House Republican lawmakers have sponsored legislation that threatens its legality.
Republicans are divided on fertility treatments such as IVF, with many hailed as a boost to American families, while others oppose it because it can produce multiple embryos, not all of which get used. Abortion rights activists worry that the Supreme Court decision threatens IVF, and a February ruling in Alabama that frozen embryos could be considered people caused several clinics to briefly pause treatments.
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