President Donald Trump called himself “strongly Pro-Life” in several tweets late Saturday night while at the same time appearing to challenge key provisions of strict abortion laws recently passed in Republican-controlled states.
“As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions – Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan,” Trump said on Twitter.
Trump’s comments come within days of Alabama passing a near-total abortion ban, putting in place the nation’s most restrictive law on the procedure. Unlike other laws restricting abortion, the Alabama law does not make any exceptions for instances of rape or incest.
Republican governors in Georgia and Missouri have signed their own restrictive measures to curb abortions in the last week as well.
This is the first time Trump has publicly commented on the recent wave of abortion laws after making the issue of late-term abortions a key part of his State of the Union address month ago. During his address to both chambers of Congress, the president criticized efforts in Virginia and New York that would allow women to terminate nonviable pregnancies after 24 weeks.
While not specifically commenting on the Alabama law, Trump appears to come out against the lack of exceptions that have caused some conservatives, like televangelist Pat Robertson, to criticize the measure as going “too far.”
After noting all the judges he has appointed since taking office and the gains of the Pro-Life movement, Trump called for Republicans to unite around the issue as candidates in the Democratic primary denounced the new laws and turned the restrictive measures into a campaign issue.
“If we are foolish and do not stay UNITED as one, all of our hard fought gains for Life can, and will, rapidly disappear,” Trump said in a tweet.
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