Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that women should be punished for seeking abortions if the procedure is outlawed, and his opponents quickly condemned the comments.
The Republican front-runner told MSNBC host Chris Matthews that abortion “is a very serious problem, and it’s a problem we have to decide on. Are you going to send them to jail?”
In a pre-taped appearance of the network’s town hall scheduled to air Wednesday evening, Matthews pressed Trump to answer his own question.
“There has to be some form of punishment,” Trump said, adding that the penalty would have to be determined for women who get abortions, should the procedure be deemed illegal.
Trump’s policy idea is a departure from most state abortion restrictions, which don’t impose penalties on the women who get abortions. Typically, any penalties are imposed on the physician who does the procedure.
The anti-abortion movement in recent decades has shied away from the perception that it is “punishing” women for getting abortions. Instead, it has focused on penalties for the physicians who provide them, such as imposing medical or legal restrictions on their practice. In some rare situations, women have faced charges associated with abortions they have attempted on their own.
Later Wednesday, Trump's campaign released a statement clarifying the candidate's earlier comments: "This issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination. Like Ronald Reagan, I am pro- life with exceptions, which I have outlined numerous times."
His opponents in the 2016 race quickly pounced on his MSNBC rhetoric.
Hillary Clinton called Trump’s remarks appalling. “Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse,” she tweeted. “Horrific and telling.”
Bernie Sanders also condemned Trump, tweeting, “Your Republican frontrunner, ladies and gentlemen. Shameful.”
John Kasich said he would “absolutely not” punish women for abortions. “I do have exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother but of course women shouldn’t be punished,” the Ohio governor told MSNBC. “I think probably Donald Trump will figure out a way to say that he didn’t say it or he was misquoted or whatever, but I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s an appropriate response and it’s a difficult enough situation then to try to punish somebody.”
Some outside groups also assailed Trump for his rhetoric.
"The last person women need to police their health care decisions is someone who sees them not as people, but as ‘fat pigs,’ ‘bimbos’ and ‘disgusting animals,’" said Marcy Stech, a spokeswoman for Emily's List, a pro-abortion-rights group that helps elect female Democrats.
“Republicans are about to nominate a truly dangerous man to lead their fight to restrict women’s access to abortion,” she added.
Marge Baker, executive director of the progressive group People for the American Way, slammed Trump’s “absolutely abhorrent” position.
“Criminalizing abortion would endanger the lives of women — it’s ... unthinkable, and shows just how much is at stake in the November elections,” she said in a statement. “The fact of the matter, though, is that all of the Republican presidential candidates would like to criminalize abortion — Trump is no outlier on this.”
Trump has been a controversial figure on the subject of abortion. He recounted a personal story during a Republican debate in August, explaining that having a friend come so close to aborting a child inspired his evolution on abortion rights.
“It was going to be aborted and that child today is a total superstar,” Trump said in August. “It is a great, great child.”
As recently as 2000, Trump called himself “very pro-choice,” but he has publicly identified himself as “pro-life” since 2011. Nevertheless, some of the most prominent anti-abortion groups earlier this year urged Republican primary voters to support alternatives to Trump after he suggested he would consider former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown as a running mate, or his sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, as a Supreme Court justice — both of whom support abortion rights. The real estate mogul has also upset anti-abortion advocates with statements defending Planned Parenthood during the campaign.
Even as Trump faces high unfavorable ratings among women and has vigorously defended his campaign manager after a simple battery charge for allegedly forcefully grabbing a female reporter, the billionaire claims he’s the best candidate for women.
“Nobody will be better to women,” he told supporters, repeating an oft-used line Wednesday during a rally in Appleton, Wisconsin. “And nobody will be better to women.”
Credit: politico.com
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