‘Pro-life’ Trump accepts some cases for abortion as states pass stricter laws

President speaks out on contentious issue after Alabama latest US state to ban the procedure

DONALD TRUMP has declared himself “strongly pro-life”, but opposed to a ban on abortion in the case of rape or incest, in his first comments since Alabama’s strict laws came in.

His position was in opposition to the law signed by Alabama’s governor last week, which would only allow abortion where a mother’s life was in danger. A similar bill was passed by Missouri’s legislation on Friday.

Mr Trump’s intervention came as anti-abortion states passed laws hoping to trigger a challenge to the 1973 Roe v Wade supreme court judgment, which legalised abortion across the US.

“As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly pro-life, with the three exceptions – rape, incest and protecting the life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan,” he said on Twitter.

He added: “The radical Left, with late-term abortion (and worse), is imploding on this issue. We must stick together and win for life in 2020.”

Mr Trump’s position has changed radically. In 1999 he declared: “I’m very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. But I just believe in choice.”

It was a position that led conservative critics to accuse Mr Trump of having “New York” values when he sought the Republican nomination in 2016.

His conversion to the anti-abortion cause helped Mr Trump win the backing of evangelical conservatives who wield considerable influence in the Republican party.

Abortion is emerging as one of the key issues in US politics, with a raft of Republican-controlled legislatures passing highly restrictive measures.

Laws banning abortion from the moment a foetal heartbeat is detected have been enacted in Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota. Opponents say the “heartbeat” legislation amounts to a complete ban on abortion because embryonic cardiac activity can be detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

It is expected that these laws will come before the supreme court, which now has a conservative majority with Mr Trump’s appointment of Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch to the bench.

Mr Trump’s tweets attacking the “radical Left” for supporting abortion rights has guaranteed that the issue will be high on the agenda in next year’s presidential election.

Already several of the Democratic candidates have roundly condemned the Alabama legislation, including Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. “States can’t just take away these freedoms,” said Pete Buttigieg, another front-runner.

“We cannot allow Alabama, Georgia and Missouri to put women’s lives and health and freedom and autonomy at risk the way they are right now.”