Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Politics, US News, Melania Trump
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Celebrity, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Politics, US News, Melania Trump
Among the countless policies laid out by Republican candidate Donald Trump ahead of the US presidential election was one that left many horrified - his abortion policy.
Interestingly, however, following his victory over Kamala Harris yesterday (6 November), people have been shocked to learn that Trump's stance on abortion goes against his wife Melania's views.
Back in 2022, Trump heaped praise on the US Supreme Court for overturning Roe v Wade - a law which generally protected the rights of a woman or person who can have an abortion.
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Despite this prohibiting even those who had undergone cases of sexual assault or abuse, Trump described the change in law as a 'beautiful thing to watch' at the time, after which dozens of states banned the procedure.
And ahead of his latest campaign, the politician - who himself has been accused of both sexual assault and harassment by several women, something he's denied - claimed he might veto any anti-abortion appeals that land on his desk as president.
There's also the 900-page 'wish list' conjured up by Trump's right wing associates known as Project 2025, which proposes using the 1873 Comstock Act, which bans the mailing of abortion pills.
This is extremely significant as such medication accounts for around two-thirds of abortions in the US.
If the Comstock Act is enacted to its fullest extent, then Americans could see not only a ban on abortion pills, but also on the equipment that clinics need to carry out the procedure.
Trump could also potentially use such legislation to roll out a nationwide 'de facto' abortion ban.
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However, Trump's wife, 54-year-old Melania, strongly believes that women should have the right to control their own bodies.
In an excerpt from her self-titled memoir, the mother-of-one - who shares her 18-year-old son Barron with her husband - penned: "It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children.
"Based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government."
Melania - who, elsewhere in the book defended Barron from criticism over his alleged 'autism' - went on to ask: "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."
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She continued: "Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body. I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.
"I have always believed it is critical for people to take care of themselves first. It’s a very straightforward concept; in fact, we are all born with a set of fundamental rights, including the right to enjoy our lives.
"We are all entitled to maintain a gratifying and dignified existence."
Describing her stance on women's rights as a 'common-sense approach', Melania insisted that it shouldn't just be cases where the mother's life is at risk that sees women permitted the right to undergo an abortion.
Instead, she lists rape, incest and 'a congenital birth defect, plus severe medical conditions' as permissible reasons that a woman could undergo an abortion.
"It is important to note that historically, most abortions conducted during the later stages of pregnancy were the result of severe fetal abnormalities that probably would have led to the death or stillbirth of the child," Melania added.
"Perhaps even the death of the mother. These cases were extremely rare and typically occurred after several consultations between the woman and her doctor.
"As a community, we should embrace these common-sense standards. Again, timing matters."