Defenders of abortion rights in the United States have a new ally: in her memoirs to be published Tuesday, October 8, former First Lady Melania Trump does not hesitate to distance herself from her husband Donald Trump on this key issue. of the American presidential election. “It is imperative to guarantee women the autonomy to decide on their preference regarding having children, based on their personal convictions,” she writes in good papers revealed this Wednesday by the Guardian. Women must be “free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” insists the wife of the Republican candidate.
His opinion, as reported by the British daily, diverges from that of Donald Trump, who considers that each state must be free to decide for itself possible restrictions concerning abortion. The question of the right to abortion is central in the November 5 duel between the Republican and Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris, who continues to denounce his about-faces.
“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her body? A woman’s fundamental right to individual liberty (…) gives her the authority to “terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” writes Melania Trump in her book, according to the Guardian. “Restricting a woman’s right to choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as forbidding her to control her own body. I have held this belief my entire adult life,” she adds. , according to the British newspaper, which explains having had access to a copy of his memoirs, the publication of which is scheduled for Tuesday.
Trump, defender of “reproductive rights”
Donald Trump boasted of having, through his appointment of three conservative judges to the Supreme Court of the United States during his mandate, led to the cancellation in June 2022 of the federal guarantee of the right to abortion. Putting an end to half a century of jurisprudence, the Supreme Court gave states full latitude to legislate in this area. At least 20 of them have since put in place partial or total restrictions on voluntary termination of pregnancy.
Faced with the support of a majority of public opinion for the right to abortion, Donald Trump has however resolved to adjust his position on the issue. The Republican candidate is now trying to present himself as a defender of “reproductive rights”, which in return has earned him the chance to be accused by conservatives of having betrayed the anti-abortion movement.