Trump says it's up to states whether to punish, monitor women for abortions

Source: Washington Post

Trump says it’s up to states whether to punish, monitor women for abortions

By Azi Paybarah and Marianne LeVine
April 30, 2024 at 11:46 a.m. EDT

Former president Donald Trump said in an interview published Tuesday that he would not intervene in state decisions on abortion policy, including in situations where states seek to monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans.

Trump also declined during the interview with Time magazine to commit to veto any additional federal restrictions if they were to come to his desk upon a possible return to the White House.

Asked by Time if he would be comfortable with states prosecuting women for having abortions outside limited periods permitted by state laws, Trump suggested the federal government should have no role.

“It’s irrelevant whether I’m comfortable or not,” Trump said. “It’s totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions.”

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Isaac Arnsdorf contributed to this report.

By Azi Paybarah
Paybarah joined The Washington Post in 2022. He previously covered politics for the New York Times, Politico New York and was a Knight-Wallace Fellow in 2017. Twitter https://twitter.com/Azi

By Marianne LeVine
Marianne LeVine is a national political reporter for The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/marianne_levine

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/30/donald-trump-abortion-time-interview/