Washington — Former President Donald Trump said Friday he would vote to uphold Florida’s controversial six-week abortion ban, a day after he angered abortion opponents by criticize the law.
“It takes longer than six weeks,” the Republican candidate told Fox News. “I’ve disagreed with this since the beginning of the primaries. When I first heard about it, I didn’t agree. At the same time, Democrats are radical because nine months is just a ridiculous situation. You can have an abortion at the ninth month. You know, some states, like Minnesota and others, have laws that allow you to execute a baby after it’s born, and that’s unacceptable. So I’m going to vote no for that reason.”
The state of Florida banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. A proposed constitutional amendment up for a vote in the state, where Trump resides, would effectively overturn the ban.
Democrats generally favor restoring the abortion law that existed in Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to restrict abortion after the fetal stage of viability, or about 24 weeks of pregnancy. The vast majority of abortions occur earlier. A 2021 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 93% of abortions in the United States occurred in the first trimester, before the 13th week. Less than 1% were performed after 21 weeks.
On Thursday, Trump told NBC News that six weeks “is too short.” He had previously indicated he might support a 15-week ban.
“We need more time,” he said. “I’m going to vote that we need more than six weeks.”
He faced a strong backlash from abortion opponents after the NBC interview, including from Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council.
Perkins told CBS News Friday that “a lot of damage has been done.”
Conservative pundit Erick Erickson said Trump’s comments “will go too far for many.”
“If Donald Trump loses, he loses today,” Erickson wrote on social media.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement that a possible vote in favor of the amendment would “completely undermine” Trump’s previous position. In a separate statement after he announced his opposition, she thanked him.
contributed to this report.
