Donald Trump has said he will vote against a ballot measure in his home state of Florida that would protect abortion rights.
It came one day after he appeared to hedge on the issue in an interview with NBC News, resulting in criticism from anti-abortion activists within his own party.
On Friday, Trump told Fox News that he still thinks Florida’s ban on abortions after six weeks is too strict.
However he said would still vote “no” on a measure that would amend the state’s constitution to protect abortion rights.
“So I think six weeks you need more time, then six weeks I’ve disagreed with that right from the early primaries when I heard about it I disagreed with it,” Trump said.
“At the same time the Democrats are radical because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation where you can do an abortion in the ninth month… So I’ll be voting no for that reason,” he said.
Abortion laws vary widely around the US, and abortions after 21 weeks pregnancy are rare – representing just 1% of all abortions and often related to medical concerns like foetal anomalies or threats to the life of the mother, according to the non-profit health organisation KFF.
The Republican presidential nominee has come out against the Florida abortion measure just one day after he was asked by NBC News how he would vote.
“I think the six week is too short,” Trump said, external in the NBC News interview on Thursday. “It has to be more time. I told them that I want more weeks.”
“I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks,” he said when pressed.
His Democratic opponent, Vice-President Kamala Harris, quickly responded to Trump’s announcement that he would support continuing Florida’s abortion ban.
“Donald Trump just made his position on abortion very clear: He will vote to uphold an abortion ban so extreme it applies before many women even know they are pregnant,” she said in a statement.
Trump’s criticism of Florida’s abortion ban
In 2022, the US Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion nationwide, leaving the decision to states. As a result, Florida banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
The proposed constitutional amendment does not specify a number of weeks, but would protect abortion access in the state until the point of foetal viability, which is about 23-25 weeks of pregnancy.
As it stands, the state has a near-total ban on abortion, as many women do not know they are pregnant at six weeks.
The proposed amendment states: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
Voters cannot choose a number of weeks into a pregnancy that abortion should be permitted. They can only choose “Yes” to support the amendment or “No” to reject it. Under state law, 60% of voters must vote “Yes” for the measure to pass.
Trump has criticised Florida’s six-week abortion ban before.
Last September he said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made a “terrible mistake” signing the ban into law.
Mr DeSantis was challenging the former president in the Republican primary at the time.
Conservative Republicans pressure Trump on abortion
Thursday’s comments – in which Trump appeared to be open to voting in favour of the constitutional amendment – were heavily criticised by leaders in the anti-abortion movement, which plays a critical role in shaping conservative politics in the US.
“If Donald Trump loses, today is the day he lost,” conservative pundit Erick Erickson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“The committed pro-life community could turn a blind eye, in part, to national abortion issues. But for Trump to weigh in on Florida as he did will be a bridge too far for too many.”
Albert Mohler Jr, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote on X that Trump’s comments on reproductive rights, including on the six-week ban, “seem almost calculated to alienate prolife voters”.
“Pro-life Christian voters are going to have to think clearly, honestly, and soberly about our challenge in this election – starting at the top of the ticket,” he said.
After the Thursday NBC interview, the Trump campaign and his running mate JD Vance made public statements emphasising that the former president had not yet made up his mind on the ballot initiative.
Mr Vance said the former president will “make his own announcement on how he’s going to vote” on the Florida measure that will be based on “his own judgement”.
Abortion is a key issue in 2024 US election
Opinion polling indicates that a majority of Americans support abortion access.
A July poll from the University of North Florida suggested that 69% of likely voters supported the Florida ballot measure, and 23% opposed it.
The political backlash after the Supreme Court brought an end to Roe v Wade has presented Trump with a political conundrum he has yet to fully solve.
Trump rose to power with the help of the religious right, which broadly supports restrictions on the procedure.
In his first run for president, he pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn the constitutional right to abortion in the US.
He kept the promise by appointing three conservative jurists who ultimately voted to overturn Roe v Wade.
Abortion has now become a central issue in the 2024 presidential campaign – one that Democrats have used to rally voters.
His opponent, Vice-President Kamala Harris, has made reproductive rights central to her campaign.
Trump has taken the position that abortion policy should be left to individual states.
At the Republican National Convention in July, rank-and-file party members fell in line behind the former president, even though his position can seem at odds with their personal opposition to abortion.
Some abortion opponents still seek to restrict the procedure nationwide or believe Trump is alienating their base.
Further complicating Trump’s standing is a new proposal to make the government or insurance companies pay for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Some anti-abortion and religious groups object to IVF due to its use of embryos.
In February, the Alabama state supreme court ruled that frozen embryos are legally considered children, throwing IVF treatments and fertility care in the state into chaos.
The Republican Party, and Trump, have sought to distance themselves from that ruling, and Alabama’s Republican-controlled legislature later passed IVF protections.
Responding to Trump’s comments, the Harris campaign drew a sharp contrast with the Republican ticket on the issue of reproductive rights.
“We’re going to hold Donald Trump and JD Vance accountable for the devastating impacts of overturning Roe v Wade and their threats to access to IVF,” Harris spokesman Kevin Munoz told reporters on Friday. “Kamala Harris is going to fight for your rights. Donald Trump will take them away.”
