Melania Trump says in a highly anticipated memoir to be released a month before the election that she is a strong advocate for women’s rights to control their own bodies, including the right to abortion. “It is imperative to ensure that women have the autonomy to decide their preference for having children, based on their own beliefs, without any government intervention or pressure,” writes the Republican candidate’s wife, in the middle of the electoral campaign. in which Donald Trump’s threats against women’s reproductive rights played a central role.
“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 to individual freedom, to her own life, gives her the power to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” says the former president’s wife: “Restricting a woman’s right to Deciding whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is tantamount to denying you control over your own body. “I have carried this belief with me throughout my adult life.”
Melania Trump has rarely expressed her political opinions in public. The book, which reveals that the former first lady disagrees with her own party’s positions, Melanie, It will be published in the United States next Tuesday and The Guardian has had access to an advance copy.
Her decision to include this support for abortion rights is notable not only for its proximity to a Republican candidate running on an anti-abortion platform, but also for the serious deterioration of women’s reproductive rights under Donald Trump and the Party. republican.
In 2022, in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson, three justices appointed when Donald Trump was president voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decision that protected the federal right to abortion since 1973. Since then, states Governments governed by Republicans have established draconian bans on abortion.
Donald Trump sought to both take credit for the decision by Dobbs – long the central target of conservative evangelical and Catholic donors and voters – and to quell the fire it stoked, asserting that the right to abortion should be decided by the states.
But Democrats have marked a number of politicians campaigning on the issue, including in conservative states, and threats against reproductive rights, including threats against fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization, have come under fire. are proving problematic for Republicans across the board this year.
Amid an avalanche of statements that his opponents deem misogynistic and regressive, JD Vance, Donald Trump’s vice-presidential nominee, has indicated that he would support a national ban on abortion, a measure his wife seems to be opposed.
Donald Trump himself was recently embroiled in a feud over whether he would vote in November to protect abortion rights in Florida, a vote his wife will also vote on given his Mar-a-Lago residency in Palm Beach. Ultimately, he said he would vote no. Judging by her own words, it seems likely that Melania Trump will vote yes.
Her memoir is brief, with many descriptions of her youth in Slovenia, her life as a model in New York and her love for the man whose third wife she became, but scant in terms of political debate. However, Donald Trump includes a review praising “commitment to excellence… an insightful perspective… [y] “business achievements” of his wife.
Before talking about abortion, Melania Trump says she disagrees with her husband on certain aspects of immigration policy, particularly because she is an immigrant herself.
“The occasional political disagreements between my husband and I,” she says, “are part of our relationship, but I thought it was better to address them privately than to dispute it publicly. » And yet, later in the book, she sets out views on abortion and reproductive rights diametrically opposed to those of her husband and his party.
“I always thought it was essential that people take care of themselves first,” writes Melania Trump about her support for abortion rights: “It’s a very simple concept; In fact, we are all born with a set of fundamental rights, including the right to enjoy our lives. We all have the right to lead an enriching and dignified existence. “This common-sense approach applies to a woman’s natural right to make decisions about her own body and health. »
Melania Trump says her ideas on abortion rights stem from “a set of fundamental principles,” at the center of which are “individual liberty” and “personal liberty,” over which “there is no room for negotiation.
After affirming her support for the right to abortion for these reasons, she details “the legitimate reasons why a woman decides to abort”, in particular the danger to the life of the mother, rape or incest, exceptions frequent state bans, but also “congenital childbirth”. defect, in addition to serious medical problems. Melania Trump also defends the right to abortion in the late stages of pregnancy.
Trump’s wife writes: “It is important to note that, historically, most abortions performed late in pregnancy were the result of severe fetal abnormalities that would likely have resulted in the death of the fetus. Maybe even the death of the mother. These cases were extremely rare and usually occurred after several consultations between the woman and her doctor. As a community, we should adopt these common-sense standards. Again, timing is important.
In the United States, more than 90% of abortions occur at or before 13 weeks of gestation, according to CDC data. Less than 1% of abortions occur at week 21 or later.
During the election campaign, Republicans blatantly misrepresented Democrats’ positions on abortion. Last month, during a debate with Kamala Harris, Donald Trump incorrectly stated that “the vice president says that abortion in the ninth month is completely acceptable.”
In this sense, Melania Trump launches a very anti-Trumpian call for empathy: “Many women choose to abort due to personal medical problems”, she writes: “These situations with important moral implications weigh heavily on the woman and his family and deserve our empathy. . Think, for example, of the complexity inherent in the decision of whether a mother should risk her own life to give birth.
Recent news reports have highlighted cases of women dying in states where abortion is banned. And Trump’s wife appeals for compassion: “When faced with an unexpected pregnancy, young women often experience feelings of isolation and significant stress. Like most Americans, I support requiring minors to obtain parental consent before having an abortion. I am aware that this is not always possible. Our next generation must be provided with knowledge, safety, protection and comfort, and the cultural stigma associated with abortion must be removed.
Finally, Melania Trump expresses solidarity with protesters in favor of reproductive rights: “The slogan ‘My body, my choice’ is generally associated with female activists and those who align with the pro-choice side of the debate,” writes -She. : “But if you really think about it, “My Body, My Choice” goes both ways: a woman’s right to make an independent decision involving her own body, including the right to choose life. “Personal freedom.”
