Donald Trump Falls Silent Before Major Supreme Court Abortion Ruling
Donald Trump has remained silent on whether he thinks women should be able to access mifepristone ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the abortion-inducing drug.
The former president and presumptive 2024 Republican White House nominee has taken a cautious stance on abortion, an issue that could play a vital role in November’s elections.
A number of states have banned or severely restricted abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, ending federal constitutional protections for abortion.
Since the ruling, medication abortion has become a more commonly used method to end pregnancies, accounting for more than 60 percent of abortions last year, according to reports. Medication abortion involves taking mifepristone with another drug called misoprostol.
The Supreme Court is set to release its decision on an effort to restrict access to mifepristone, the first abortion-related case the court has taken since a majority of the court’s justices struck down Roe.
When the court heard oral arguments in March, the justices did not appear ready to limit access to the drug.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone in 2000 as a safe and effective way to terminate early pregnancies. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the conservative group challenging mifepristone, argued that the FDA overlooked serious problems when it eased restrictions on the drug, including making it available via the mail in 2021.
During an April 12 interview with Time magazine, Trump said he would soon announce his stance on the drug.
“Well, I have an opinion on that, but I’m not going to explain. I’m not gonna say it yet,” he said. “But I have pretty strong views on that. And I’ll be releasing it probably over the next week.”
He also said he would make a statement about his views on the Comstock Act, which is a 1873 law limiting the mailing of materials including those that are used for abortion, and the mailing of abortion pills in the next 14 days. The 19th-century law has been revived by anti-abortion groups and conservative states seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone.
“Yeah, I have a big statement on that. I feel very strongly about it,” Trump said. “I actually think it’s a very important issue.”
And in a follow-up interview on April 27, Trump said he would make his stance known “over the next week or two.”
But it has been four weeks since the transcripts of the interviews were published on April 30, and Trump has yet to release any statements on mifepristone.
A Trump spokesperson has been contacted for comment via email.
After months of speculation and mixed messages, Trump last month declined to endorse a national abortion ban and said he believes abortion limits should be left to the states, prompting a backlash from anti-abortion groups.
He has acknowledged that abortion has become a vulnerability for Republicans, saying that taking too extreme a stance could cost the GOP in elections in November.
Donald Trump has remained silent on whether he thinks women should be able to access mifepristone ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the abortion-inducing drug.
The former president and presumptive 2024 Republican White House nominee has taken a cautious stance on abortion, an issue that could play a vital role in November’s elections.
A number of states have banned or severely restricted abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, ending federal constitutional protections for abortion.
Since the ruling, medication abortion has become a more commonly used method to end pregnancies, accounting for more than 60 percent of abortions last year, according to reports. Medication abortion involves taking mifepristone with another drug called misoprostol.
Former. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower
Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower to attend his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024, in New York City. Trump has been largely silent on the issue of abortion as a… More JAMES DEVANEY/GC IMAGES
The Supreme Court is set to release its decision on an effort to restrict access to mifepristone, the first abortion-related case the court has taken since a majority of the court’s justices struck down Roe.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone in 2000 as a safe and effective way to terminate early pregnancies. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the conservative group challenging mifepristone, argued that the FDA overlooked serious problems when it eased restrictions on the drug, including making it available via the mail in 2021.
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During an April 12 interview with Time magazine, Trump said he would soon announce his stance on the drug.
“Well, I have an opinion on that, but I’m not going to explain. I’m not gonna say it yet,” he said. “But I have pretty strong views on that. And I’ll be releasing it probably over the next week.”
He also said he would make a statement about his views on the Comstock Act, which is a 1873 law limiting the mailing of materials including those that are used for abortion, and the mailing of abortion pills in the next 14 days. The 19th-century law has been revived by anti-abortion groups and conservative states seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone.
“Yeah, I have a big statement on that. I feel very strongly about it,” Trump said. “I actually think it’s a very important issue.”
And in a follow-up interview on April 27, Trump said he would make his stance known “over the next week or two.”
But it has been four weeks since the transcripts of the interviews were published on April 30, and Trump has yet to release any statements on mifepristone.
A Trump spokesperson has been contacted for comment via email.
After months of speculation and mixed messages, Trump last month declined to endorse a national abortion ban and said he believes abortion limits should be left to the states, prompting a backlash from anti-abortion groups.
He has acknowledged that abortion has become a vulnerability for Republicans, saying that taking too extreme a stance could cost the GOP in elections in November.
Since Roe was overturned, abortion has largely been a winning issue for Democrats and voters in several states have voted in favor of abortion rights. As many as 10 states could hold referendums on abortion rights in the fall.
Meanwhile, Louisiana lawmakers last week passed a first-of-its-kind bill to reclassify abortion-inducing drugs as controlled and dangerous substances.
The bill, which is expected to be signed into law by the state’s governor, would reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled and dangerous substances. Knowingly possessing the drugs without a valid prescription would carry a punishment including hefty fines and jail time.
The uncertainty around mifepristone has led some women to stockpile abortion bills, Merle Hoffman, an abortion rights activist, recently told Business Insider.