GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump made an alarming statement at a town hall event in where he called for the punishment of women who have abortions should the practice be considered illegal. Trump quickly took back those comments after critics and pro-abortion groups began to seize on the business mogul’s words, NPR reports.
Trump’s statements, in which he said “there has to be some form of punishment” for women,will air tonight on the MSNBC network as part of a town hall discussion, according to NPR. After chatter surrounding his controversial stance began to spread, the Trump camp went into damage control mode and posted a statement to clarify things.
“If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman,” read a portion of the statement from Trump.
The statement adds that the victim in this matter is the woman and her unborn child, and he doubled down on his position by remaining pro-life “with exceptions” while comparing himself to President Ronald Reagan regarding the stance.
Trump’s pro-life position has long been established, even when he was a member of the Democratic Party. Siding with members of his current party, Trump takes the conservative position that abortion should be outlawed. However, GOP officials who share this view have stopped short of calling for criminal punishment for women who do undergo operation procedures.
The candidate was hit with criticism from fellow pro-life leaders and pro-choice groups, with President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund Jeanne Mancini calling Trump “out of touch” for his words, the outlet adds.
.@JohnKasich reacts to Trump’s abortion comments: “Of course, women shouldn’t be punished” for having an abortion https://t.co/bLyaNPVGoE
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 30, 2016
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Naturally, Trump’s opponents have used the verbal gaffe as an opportunity to strike. Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump’s nearest rival in the GOP presidential polls, published a tweet taking a dig at the comment which echoes Ohio Gov. John Kasich‘s words.
SOURCE: NPR | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform
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Trump Called For Punishing Women Over Abortions, Then Took Back Comment was originally published on newsone.com
