Melania Trump declared her strong support for abortion rights on Thursday in a rare and dramatic break from her ex-president husband on a major political issue.
The former first lady in her forthcoming memoir declared that reproductive rights are a cornerstone of personal liberty in what amounts to a sharp split from former President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion stance, according to a report.
“Without a doubt there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: Individual freedom,” Melania Trump said in a video promoting her book. “What does ‘My body, my choice’ really mean?”
Melania Trump, whose book “Melania” hits shelves Tuesday, writes in the memoir that women must have the right to decide whether they want to have a child or not.
“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” Trump writes in the book, according to the Guardian.
Donald Trump has flip-flopped over the years on abortion but in recent years has portrayed himself as a strong opponent of abortion rights. He regularly brags of appointing the three Supreme Court justices who engineered the overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
After first saying he opposes Florida’s draconian ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, Trump now says he will vote against an abortion rights referendum that would bring back the protections of Roe v. Wade in the Sunshine State.
The former first lady, who like her husband votes in Palm Beach County, has not explicitly said how she will vote on the referendum, which polls say has the support of nearly 60% of Florida voters.
In the memoir, Melania Trump leaves little doubt that she supports the right to choose abortion to end an unwanted pregnancy.
“If you really think about it, ‘My Body, My Choice’ applies to both sides — a woman’s right to make an independent decision involving her own body, including the right to choose life,” the former first lady writes.
As the election nears, the issue of abortion rights looms as a major headache for Trump and his Republican allies even before Melania Trump spoke her mind.
Polls say nearly two-thirds of American voters broadly favor abortion rights, including majorities in battleground and even red states.
Trump’s running mate JD Vance, who has called for a national ban on abortion, even admitted during the vice presidential debate this week that the GOP needs to “win back the trust” of voters on the issue.