US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he was leaning toward a 15-week national ban on abortion but supports exceptions for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother because “you have to win elections”.
Abortion promises to be a galvanising issue for some women voters in the 2024 presidential election in which Mr Trump will try to unseat Democratic President Joe Biden.
A call for a 15-week national ban is likely to displease both sides of the abortion debate, with conservative groups unhappy with what they view as an overly permissive time limit and abortion-rights activists opposing the idea of any kind of national ban.
The former Republican president, whose three right-wing appointees to the US Supreme Court secured the majority needed to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, has not been specific on whether he would sign a national ban into law.
Speaking on the “Sid & Friends in the Morning” show on WABC, Mr Trump said: “The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that. And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at.”
He said he would make an announcement at the appropriate time.
Mr Trump said he backed exceptions to a ban on abortion when it involved rape, incest or saving the life of the mother, which he said the vast majority of Republicans support.
He tells Republicans who push a harder line: “Here’s the problem, you have to win elections. And otherwise, you’d be right back where you started.”
Voter backlash was widely credited with limiting Republican gains in the congressional elections that followed.
Republicans have issued restrictive abortion laws in nearly two dozen states since the Supreme Court reversal of abortion rights.
Speaking to reporters in Florida as he voted in the state’s primary, Mr Trump was asked what he thought about a 16-week abortion ban. “We’ll be talking about that soon,” he responded.
The New York Times reported last month that Mr Trump has privately expressed support for a 16-week abortion ban.
“The issue that is political kryptonite for GOP will be crucial again in 2024 – BRING IT!” Democratic strategist Maria Cardona wrote in an X post.
