Former President Donald Trump is signaling to female voters that he believes states will ultimately err on the side of leniency on abortion limits.
Abortion has generated some political headwinds for Mr. Trump since three of the justices he nominated for the Supreme Court helped overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022 and kicked the issue to the states. That 1973 ruling had established a national right to abortion.
Speaking at a Fox News all-women town hall in Georgia that aired Wednesday, Mr. Trump was pressed on why the government should have a say over how a woman handles a pregnancy.
He said he’s happy the states are hammering out the issue, saying some have adopted more liberal limits and “some of them are not.”
“But it is going to be redone. It’s going to be redone,” Mr. Trump said regarding stricter limits. “You end up with a vote of the people, and some of them, I agree, they’re too tough, too tough, and those are going to be redone because there already is a movement in those states … to redo it.”
Mr. Trump didn’t identify the states, though voters in several of them face ballot measures that would protect or expand access to abortion.
He added, “Remember this: This issue has torn this country apart for 52 years. So we got it back in the states. We have a vote of the people, and it’s working its way through the system, and ultimately it’s going to be the right thing.”
Mr. Trump has tried to navigate the thorny issue.
He has taken credit for his role in installing the Supreme Court justices who helped end Roe — a decision that social and religious conservatives wanted for years.
He also has distanced himself from some of the stricter abortion laws that have since gone into effect and become a rallying point for pro-choice advocates.
At the town hall, Mr. Trump also called himself the “father of IVF.” He has promised universal, free access to in vitro fertilization treatment. Democrats say Mr. Trump can’t be trusted.
Vice President Kamala Harris has made the issue a central part of her push to energize the Democratic Party’s base and young female voters and woo moderate-minded Republican women living in the suburbs outside Philadelphia and other cities in swing states that will determine the election.
Democrats also Ms. Harris gets a boost from abortion initiatives in Arizona and Nevada that seek to enshrine abortion rights into law.
The polls show a big gender gap. Mr Trump is way up among male voters, while Ms. Harris leads with women.
That reflects a trend in which women, who have comprised a bigger chunk of the electorate than their male counterparts, tend to be more aligned with Democrats pushing abortion and tighter gun control.
Before Mr. Trump’s town hall, which was taped Tuesday in Cummings, Georgia, the Democratic National Committee unveiled battleground state billboards attacking Mr. Trump on abortion.
The billboards feature a smiling Mr. Trump and reads: “While Women Are Dying, Donald Trump Calls Abortion Bans ’A Beautiful Thing.’”
The placards add, “Our Rights are on the Ballot, Vote Kamala.”
“Women are dying because of Donald Trump, who enabled the extreme abortion bans we’re seeing MAGA Republicans enact in the states — bans that Trump calls ’a beautiful thing to watch,’” said Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Maddy Mundy.
Ms. Mundy said Ms. Harris is “the only candidate in this race committed to protecting and restoring women’s rights across the country.”
Mr. Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity this year that it was a “beautiful thing” to have the issue of abortion limits decided by states, with some embracing more liberal approaches and some embracing stricter laws.
Gallup polling shows that 54% of Americans identify as pro-choice and 41% as pro-life.
Half of Americans say abortion should be legal only under some circumstances, 35% want no limits and 12% say the procedure should be banned.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.