Pro-life activists react to Melania Trump backing abortion rights in her memoir saying it is ‘undercutting President Trump’s message’

Pro-life activists have warned that Melania Trump’s support for abortion rights could undermine former President Trump’s message on the issue ahead of the November election.

The former First Lady, 54, reveals in her upcoming memoir, out next week, that she supports women’s right to choose as a staunch defender of “individual liberty” and “personal freedom” — a position she has maintained throughout her has occupied ‘whole life’. adult life’.

“It is imperative to ensure that women have autonomy in deciding their childbearing preferences, based on their own beliefs, free from any government intervention or pressure,” she writes in the book.

But pro-life activists were quick to criticize Melania for having views that differ from her husband’s.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, wrote on Twitter/ -life voters are being undermined. What a waste of momentum.”

Hawkins continued in a lengthy post on Twitter/X last night, ruling that Melania’s “support” for abortion is “anti-feminist and clearly outside the teachings of our Catholic faith.”

‘Abortion takes an innocent life and is the opposite of empowerment because women are told they cannot balance the gift of children and a career, so they must choose one.

“Christ helps us to prosper at home, at school, at work, as mothers, and even as role models.

‘What a missed opportunity to inspire a generation of young women. I’m not going to buy Melania’s book.’

Anna Derbyshire, campaigner for ultra-conservative advocacy group CitizenGO, said: ‘Abortion campaigners don’t empower women, they tell women they can’t be empowered as mothers!

“They degrade the baby as non-human and the mother as incompetent.”

User @tacticalthomist replied to Ms. Hawkins, saying, “Then reject Trump.”

Andy Thomas said: ‘More reasons why my wife and I are #writinginDeSantis’

Liz Mair, a Republican anti-abortion campaign strategist, told The Guardian: “This could be something that’s building up to make pro-lifers think, ‘I just can’t do it with [Trump].”

“Many of them were single-issue voters anyway. He doesn’t really encourage them to show up and do anything in his favor.”

Not everyone agreed. In response to Ms. Hawkins, user Galtcat said, “I’m pro-life, but I respect people with different opinions. Throwing away people who are not you [agree with] is an indicator of a person with no sense of decency.”

Allie Renison added, “At least be rational enough to know that there is more than one interpretation of what counts for feminism.

“For you it’s being anti-abortion. That is your right to hold that opinion and I respect that, but you do not have a universal monopoly on that definition.”

Michael Antonio said: ‘But not all pregnancies are viable. Not every woman wants to father her rapist’s child.’

Melania positions herself in the memoir as someone who believes in basic human rights, including that of a woman to protect her own life, which she says extends to the “power to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”

“Limiting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is like denying her control over her own body,” she writes, as revealed by The Guardian.

She then explains in detail what she believes are “legitimate” reasons for abortion, including danger to the mother’s life, rape or incest, and serious medical conditions.

‘It is important to note that historically, most abortions performed during the later stages of pregnancy were the result of serious fetal abnormalities that would likely have resulted in the death or stillbirth of the child. 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 must embrace these common sense standards. Again, timing is important.”

It is a position in which she differs greatly from her husband. Donald Trump famously overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which generally protected the right to abortion.

Melania writes that this has sometimes resulted in political disagreements between her and her husband, but she has believed she can challenge him privately.

Later in the book she explains why she supports abortion.

“I have always believed that it is critical that people take care of themselves first,” she says. ‘It’s a very simple concept; In fact, we are all born with a number of fundamental rights, including the right to enjoy our lives.”

‘We all have the right to a satisfying and dignified existence. This common sense approach applies to a woman’s natural right to make decisions about her own body and health.”

Melania’s admission comes just a month before her husband enters a presidential election battle with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, with abortion rights set to become one of the most decisive issues among voters.

Harris has positioned herself as the “pro-choice” candidate, while Trump has struggled to find a clear position on the issue.

Certainly, he has gladly taken credit for helping pave the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that gave women the federal right to abortion.

As president, Trump appointed three of the conservative justices who voted to overturn Roe in 2022. He has said he has “no regrets” about the appointments.

While the overthrow was cheered by the anti-abortion wing of the Republican Party, the former president has recently realized that the issue has put the Republican Party in danger.

Since the 2022 ruling, Democrats have won a string of election victories by campaigning against abortion. It is thought that this caused Republicans to underperform in the 2022 midterm elections.

In August, Trump told DailyMail.com exclusively that he could vote to end Florida’s six-week abortion ban when it comes up in a referendum later this year.

Days later, after irritating his party’s anti-abortion wing, he said he would not vote to overturn the six-week limit.

This Tuesday, Trump finally said he would veto a federal abortion ban, after previously avoiding a clear answer.