Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he won’t sign a national abortion ban if elected in November — but cleared up nothing about whether he or his appointees would implement a backdoor ban.
When asked in a press gaggle in Georgia if he would sign a federal abortion ban, Trump responded “no” and shook his head, according to CNN’s Kristen Holmes.
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has been intentionally vague about his stance on abortion since it’s become apparent that the topic is a losing issue for Republicans. But the former president has a long history of anti-abortion policy and continues to align himself with some of the most extreme players in the anti-choice movement ― many of whom would be a part of his administration if reelected.
Although he said he wouldn’t sign a federal ban if Congress sent him one, Trump did not mention anything about the Comstock Act, a 151-year-old law that criminalizes sending “obscene” materials in the mail, which he could enforce to create a backdoor national abortion ban. Many of his current allies have laid out a policy agenda that includes revoking FDA approval of mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medication abortion that can be received through mail, and reviving the Comstock Act if he takes office in January.
Earlier this week, the former president said in a statement that he was proud of his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, but he supports leaving abortion rights to the states. He also skillfully avoided the topic of a national abortion ban in the statement, a move that was heavily criticized by abortion rights advocates and opponents.
There were previous reports that Trump was considering a national abortion ban around 15 or 16 weeks, likely to placate national anti-abortion organizations that he has aligned himself with.
Michael Tyler, a spokesperson for the Biden-Harris campaign, responded to Trump’s Wednesday comment in an emailed statement.
“Donald Trump owns the suffering and chaos happening right now, including in Arizona, because he proudly overturned Roe ― something he called ‘an incredible thing’ and ‘pretty amazing’ just today,” Tyler said.
“Trump lies constantly ― about everything ― but has one track record: banning abortion every chance he gets,” Tyler continued. “The guy who wants to be a dictator on day one will use every tool at his disposal to ban abortion nationwide, with or without Congress, and running away from reporters to his private jet like a coward doesn’t change that reality.”
Although Trump supposedly supports leaving abortion rights to the states, he said on Wednesday that the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that gives the go-ahead to a near-total abortion ban “went too far.” He also criticized Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week abortion ban as a “terrible mistake” last year, which the state Supreme Court ruled last week can take effect in May.
Despite his best attempts to avoid abortion, Trump’s fingerprints are all over the attacks on medication abortion, restrictions on in vitro fertilization and state-level abortion bans.
When Trump was in the White House, he and his administration appointed and worked with some of the country’s most ferocious anti-choice leaders, who are now trying to ban abortion nationwide.
Trump appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who were central in overturning Roe in 2022. He also appointed many far-right federal judges who have been integral in furthering anti-choice battles, including U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a devout Christian with extreme anti-abortion beliefs who ruled that mifepristone should be taken off the market.
Trump’s administration tried to limit access to medication abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic, asking the Supreme Court in 2020 to reinstate a requirement that would force women to obtain abortion pills in person.