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Donald Trump says abortion should be left up to states, sidestepping calls to back federal restrictions
Washington — Former President Donald Trump on Monday declined to endorse a federal abortion ban, saying that the issue should be left up to states despite encouragement from anti-abortion groups that he should back a national restriction.
The former president has sent mixed signals on the issue for months, flirting with supporting a broader abortion ban amid dueling pressures from both Republicans and Democrats. While some in his party have made support for federal restrictions clear, Trump has on multiple occasions raised alarm about the trouble the issue has created for Republicans at the ballot box, while taking credit for the Supreme Court decision that overturned a constitutional right to an abortion.
President Biden and Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to make abortion rights one of the defining issues in the election.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” Trump said in a video posted on Truth Social after teasing last week that he would release a statement.
“At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people,” Trump added. “You must follow your heart or in many cases, your religion or your faith. Do what’s right for your family and do what’s right for yourself.”
Trump reiterated his support for exceptions for abortion across the country, but did not commit to enshrining those into law in his statement.
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“Like Ronald Reagan, I am strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. You must follow your heart on this issue,” he said.
But Trump continued to spread misinformation on the issue, blaming Democrats for being the “radical ones on this issue,” alleging they support “abortion up to and even beyond the ninth month.” He has repeatedly insisted that Democrats support “execution after birth,” which he repeated on Monday.
And as the GOP seeks to navigate after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling on IVF, Trump said he “strongly” supports “availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby.”
Last week, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a prominent group that opposes abortion, released a statement praising Trump’s “legacy of pro-life leadership,” while encouraging him to endorse a 15-week minimum ban on abortion nationwide.
But the group has expressed disappointment with the former president’s stance on abortion, saying in a statement last year that his “states-only” position is “unacceptable.” At the time, SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said the group would oppose any presidential candidate “who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard.” Dannenfelser said in a staement Monday that the group is “deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position.”
Trump has repeatedly criticized politicians in his party for their stance on the divisive issue, calling Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week state abortion ban, “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” in an interview with NBC News last year, and called out candidates who ran in the 2022 midterms and 2024 GOP primary for not talking about abortion “properly.”
“In order to win in 2024, Republicans must learn how to properly talk about abortion,” Trump said at a rally in Dubuque, Iowa in September. “In the midterms, it cost us dearly, really, and unnecessarily.”
In March, Trump suggested he would support a national abortion ban around the 15-week mark in a New York radio interview with WABC. “The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that. And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable.”
The former president touts the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a significant accomplishment of his first administration and thanked the Supreme Court justices in his abortion statement Monday.
The Supreme Court officially struck down the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022, allowing states to immediately restrict access to abortion.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.