Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s stance on abortion is being questioned, according to The Weekly Standard.
While Trump is running for the Republican nomination, a party which is generally pro-life, previous statements reveal that Trump has changed his stance on abortion.
The Weekly Standard reports that in 1999 Tim Russert asked Trump if he would support a ban on “abortion in the third-trimester” or “partial-birth abortion” to which Trump replied, “No, I am pro-choice in every respect.”
Trump has since asserted that his views on the controversial topic have evolved and he is now pro-life except in the cases of rape or incest or when a pregnancy endangers the life of the mother. He says he changed his stance due to witnessing a gifted individual and realizing that that individual was almost aborted.
However, some believe his complete change of conviction on abortion is not credible.
Trump has reportedly said he would sign a ban on abortion during the last four months of pregnancy, but after the undercover Planned Parenthood videos were released, allegedly showing the abortion clinic harvesting fetal body parts to sell, Trump stated that he was questioning whether Planned Parenthood should receive any federal funding.
He later amended his stance on Planned Parenthood, saying, “I wouldn’t do any funding as long as they are performing abortions.”
John McCormack, writing for The Weekly Standard, believes that even if Trump supported pro-life legislation and did not support pro-choice legislation, as president, he would be likely to appoint Supreme Court judges were were pro-choice.
“Even if Trump wanted to appoint a constitutionalist, there's no reason to think he'd know how to pick one in the first place,” asserts McCormack.
Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Publication date: January 18, 2016
