Donald Trump has flip-flopped over many issues, but perhaps none more so than abortion.
In the past, he described himself as “very pro-choice”. But since entering politics as a Republican, Trump’s stance on the issue has markedly changed.
And during a rambling campaign rally speech at Wisconsin on Saturday, he made one of his most controversial comments on the subject to date, falsely claiming that newborn babies are being legally “executed”.
To a chorus of boos, he said:
The baby is born, the mother meets with the doctor, they take care of the baby, they wrap the baby beautifully, and then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby.
Trump’s comments were directed at Wisconsin’s Democrat governor Tony Evers – who, earlier this year, vetoed a Republican bill that would have required doctors to provide medical care to babies born alive after failed abortion attempts.
But that is an extremely rare occurrence with only one per cent of abortions in Wisconsin occurring after 20 weeks in 2017, according to state health statistics. Over 80 per cent of abortions in the state occur before 12 weeks.
Trump has made similar comments before. During his State of the Union address he claimed that “lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth”.
Trump’s comments resulted in a wave of Twitter backlash, with many highlighting how dangerous the president’s comments are to women and clinics that provide reproductive health care.
President Trump keeps telling the same lie about abortion doctors murdering healthy fetuses after delivery. This do… https://t.co/fcREap1BOu— Jamil Smith جميل كريم (@Jamil Smith جميل كريم) 1556470300
This is truly dangerous and sickening! Is this deranged President suggesting parents and doctors are working toge… https://t.co/c1kh6ViKwo— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1556478981
NO ONE ever, in any hospital, nor any mother who has just given birth, is conspiring with a doctor on whether or no… https://t.co/kQAUKnitJ1— Julia Anderson Pulver, RN (@Julia Anderson Pulver, RN) 1556419117
Trump wants you to believe there are hordes of women out chomping at the bit to kill a baby they just carried in th… https://t.co/OhdyJ4zMrr— Ilyse Hogue (@Ilyse Hogue) 1556424769
Thread: As a NICU nurse, I served on the “Bereavement Team.” We were a special team of Nurses tough enough to help… https://t.co/PhV3k7c2wi— Julia Anderson Pulver, RN (@Julia Anderson Pulver, RN) 1556418085
This is why we are having so much more clinic violence. This. “Trump on abortion: After birth, baby is ‘wrapped in… https://t.co/iRpCtfSrUu— Robin Marty (@Robin Marty) 1556461881
HT Mother Jones
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