Donald Trump Attempts to Mitigate the Risks of His Stand on Abortion Surveillance

Former President Donald Trump seems to have loosened up and shifted his track before the upcoming elections over the catastrophically charged abortion rights law in the States. In a recent Time interview, Trump was queried about his stance on whether states should be permitted to track women's pregnancies to ascertain if they've undergone an abortion.

He attempted to evade the question by suggesting it would be the prerogative of "the individual states" following the overturning of Roe v. Wade and subsequently declined to provide his opinion on several subsequent inquiries. Later Trump posted on Truth Social writing, "I never said that ’some states may choose to monitor women’s pregnancies to possibly prosecute for violating any abortion bans.’ This was made up by Democrats and the Fake News Media." The ex-POTUS went on to add, "After 50 years, Abortion is now up to the States, where everybody, Republican and Democrat, plus all legal scholars and experts, have wanted it to be. The people choose, and many States, like Ohio and Kansas, have chosen. Many others are in the process of choosing." 

During a previous appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump made peculiar remarks regarding abortion rights. Significantly, the former president expressed his determination to devise a compromise solution that would appease "both sides," yet refrained from elaborating on the specifics of such a compromise. "We’re going to agree to several weeks or months or however you want to define it. And both sides are going to come together and both sides — both sides and this is a big statement — both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years, you’ll have an issue that we can put behind us," the Republican said back then. In the subsequent months, the expected GOP candidate persisted in promoting this peculiar notion, portraying himself as the arbiter of a compromise that would purportedly appease all parties and resolve the contentious issue of reproductive rights once and for all.

The Republicans expressed support for a nationwide abortion ban, proposing the implementation of government regulations around either the 15-week or 16-week gestational period. When questioned by Fox News about the political viability of a national abortion ban, Trump replied by saying, "So, we’re gonna find out. Pretty soon, I’m gonna be making a decision." The Democratic narrative that alleges his influence on every state decision and warns of a federal abortion ban presents a notable challenge for Trump, particularly due to his fluctuating stance on the issue throughout his political career. In 1999, he declared himself "pro-choice," citing his status as a lifelong New Yorker and even expressing support for "partial-birth abortion." It would be an interesting development to note what stance Trump supports before the election season hits the note.