











































In new book and video, Melania Trump supports and defends abortion rights


































Skip to content
Skip to search




























































































































































































































































Republish This Story
Close


* Please read before republishing *
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.
To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].
— The Editors








Loading...

          

Copy HTML





Modal Gallery
Close






 / 



























Sign up for our newsletter



Menu


Topics


Abortion
Politics
Education
LGBTQ+
Caregiving
Environment & Climate
Business & Economy


View all topics




The 19th News(letter)
News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.



You have been subscribed!



Email


Subscribe








I agree to
the terms




Please complete the following CAPTCHA to be confirmed. If you have any difficulty, contact [email protected] for help.









Submitting...


Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please email [email protected] to subscribe.


This email address might not be capable of receiving emails (according to Bouncer). You should try again with a different email address. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].






Latest Stories


Our Mission


Our Team


Ways to Give


Search


Contact













































 








Search






Open Menu





      Donate
    





Home








We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.



Topics


Abortion
Politics
Education
LGBTQ+
Caregiving
Environment & Climate
Business & Economy


View all topics





The 19th News(letter)
News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.



You have been subscribed!



Email


Subscribe








I agree to
the terms




Please complete the following CAPTCHA to be confirmed. If you have any difficulty, contact [email protected] for help.









Submitting...


Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please email [email protected] to subscribe.


This email address might not be capable of receiving emails (according to Bouncer). You should try again with a different email address. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].








Latest Stories


Our Mission


Our Team


Ways to Give


Search


Contact













































 



We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.






19th News Fellowships
HBCU alums, become a fellow in our newsroom.



        Apply Today
      



Sign up for our newsletter













The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.














      Abortion
    

        Melania Trump supports and defends abortion rights in new memoir      
Similar to many American women, the former first lady thinks abortion is a “personal freedom," reports The Guardian.







Former first lady Melania Trump joins former U.S. President Donald Trump on stage at the Republican convention in July. 
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images












Shefali Luthra
 Reproductive Health Reporter 




 

Published

 

2024-10-02 17:33
5:33
October 2, 2024
pm



Updated

 

2024-10-03 08:49:09.000000
America/New_York


Republish this story








Share



Bluesky







Facebook







Email









Republish this story








Former first lady Melania Trump defends abortion rights in her new memoir, The Guardian reported Wednesday. 
Melania Trump wrote in the book, set to publish Tuesday, that abortion is a “personal freedom” — a framing similar to that used by Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and one that is in line with the views of most American women between the ages of 18 and 49.
Melania Trump has been largely absent on the campaign trail and rarely expresses political views. 




The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.








The former first lady also defended the right to an abortion later in pregnancy, noting that many of those abortions involve wanted pregnancies with medical complications diagnosed later on. 
“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,” she wrote. “We are all entitled to maintain a gratifying and dignified existence.”
Those views put her at odds with her husband, former President Donald Trump, who has taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that granted the right to an abortion. The GOP presidential nominee has falsely claimed that Democrats support abortions even after birth — an effort to frame his opponents as radical and to win back trust on an issue where Republicans have struggled. 
“The cultural stigma associated with abortion must be lifted,” she wrote in her memoir. 
Melania Trump appeared to allude to the report Thursday morning, in a video posted to her account on the social media platform X.
“There is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth,” she said in the video. “Individual freedom. What does my body my choice really mean?”
The publication of her memoir comes as Republicans — and especially Donald Trump — have tried to rebrand their approach to abortion. On Tuesday night, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, a social media platform he is a majority owner of, suggesting he would veto any effort to enact a national abortion ban. Still, abortion opponents largely back him, believing that they are more likely to wield influence in a Republican administration than a Democratic one. 
The Republican National Committee also endorsed a platform this summer that suggests support in the U.S. Constitution for fetal personhood, an ideology that supports equal rights for an embryo or fetus as a human. That argumentation could be used to support banning abortion or in vitro fertilization. The RNC endorsed this theory as an avenue for states to enact further restrictions. 
And Project 2025, a policy blueprint authored by former Donald Trump advisors, supports using an 1800s law called the Comstock Act to ban the mailing of pills used in most abortions. The authors also support leveraging the Food and Drug Administration to take one of those drugs, mifepristone, off the market. 

Republish this story








Share



Bluesky







Facebook







Email









Recommended for you





The tools Trump could use to curb abortion access if he’s elected




Reproductive rights emphasized in State of the Union address




How a Kamala Harris candidacy could supercharge Democrats’ message on abortion




Abortion gets the silent treatment at the RNC
 






19th News Fellowships
HBCU alums, become a fellow in our newsroom.



        Apply Today
      



Sign up for our newsletter








                            Explore more coverage from The 19th
                    

 Abortion 
 Politics 
 Education 
 LGBTQ+ 
 Caregiving 


View all topics











Support representative journalism today.
Learn more about membership.




        Give $19
        






        Give $50
        






        Give $100
        






        Any amount
        










Transparency



                        About
                      



                        Team
                      



                        Contact
                      



                        Privacy Policy
                      



                        Community Guidelines
                      






Newsroom



                        Latest Stories
                      



                        19th News Network
                      



                        Podcast
                      



                        Events
                      



                        Careers
                      



                        Fellowships
                      






Newsletters



                        Daily
                      



                        Weekly
                      



                        The Amendment
                      



                        Event Invites
                      






Support



                        Ways to Give
                      



                        Sponsorship
                      



                        Republishing
                      



                        Volunteer
                      







The 19th is a reader-supported nonprofit news organization. Our stories are free to republish with these guidelines.











































 














Yes! Too bad her husband is taking credit for taking those rights away.