Last week, Trump confirmed after weeks of speculation that he would be voting “no” on Florida’s abortion ballot initiative that would ban future legislative attempts to limit abortion access and overturn the state’s current six-week ban, which he also criticized for being too short.
In the same week, Trump also vowed to ensure access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) services if reelected, the fertility treatment having become a hot button political topic this year.
When Vice President Kamala Harris took over the Democratic ticket, pundits foresaw that she would campaign on reproductive issues in a way that would leave Trump little room to ignore the topic.
But rather than coalescing his base, his remarks seem to have left them wanting more — or wishing he had said less.
“The advice we’ve always given to clients on this issue is do not stand in the middle of the road, because you’ll get hit by traffic going both ways,” Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona-based GOP consultant, told The Hill.
Kristan Hawkins, president of the anti-abortion group Students for Life, said she’s been unsatisfied by how little Trump has spoken about reproductive issues on the campaign trail, but his comments in the past week were not what she wanted to hear.
“I think his statements have caused more confusion for his base than clarity,” Hawkins said. “I do believe his statement that he will vote ‘no’ on the all-trimester abortion referendum in Florida. It was a powerful statement. We want to see him do more of that.”
Taking a stronger anti-abortion stance carries major risks for Trump. Polling has indicated most people, regardless of political ideology, support abortion access to some degree. And the overturning of Roe in 2022 altered how voters mobilize.
“Prior to the Dobbs decision, you know, single-issue abortion voters — those that were especially motivated by the issue of abortion to turn out to vote — were largely pro-life, conservative voters,” said Ashley Kirzinger, associate director for public opinion and survey research at KFF. “And now we are seeing that switch, and they are largely pro-choice.”
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