Trump walks back call to punish women who undergo illegal abortions

Holly Bailey
National Correspondent
March 30, 2016

APPLETON, Wis. — Donald Trump sparked a firestorm Wednesday when he said there should be some form of punishment for women who have abortions if the procedure is outlawed in the United States — a position he walked back just hours later after he came under widespread criticism, including from the anti-abortion movement.

In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews set to air Wednesday night, the Republican presidential frontrunner repeatedly asserted he is “pro-life” and that abortion should be outlawed. But he was less clear when Matthews pressed him on exactly what the legal ramifications should be if a woman were to undergo the procedure if it were again made illegal.

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But Trump walked back his comments in a statement issued a few hours later. “If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman,” Trump said in a statement issued by his campaign. “The woman is a victim in this case, as is the life in her womb.”

Trump, who was in the odd position of issuing a correction for a television taping that had not yet aired, also added: “My position has not changed — like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions.”

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