Former first Melania Trump is doubling down on her recent remarks on supporting abortion and asserted that her husband, former President Donald Trump, knew about her stance since they first met and encouraged her to be authentic about it in her new memoir.
Melania Trump sat down for an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday's "Sunday Morning Futures." In the interview, she discussed her memoir, Melania, which was released on Tuesday. The book highlighted her support for ensuring abortion remains legal and accessible in the United States.
"It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference in having children based on their own convictions, free from intervention or pressure from government," an excerpt of the book reads, which Bartiromo read aloud during the interview.
Bartiromo asked the former first lady if she had "spoken to President Trump about that" before including it in the memoir.
"Yes," she responded. "He knew my position and my beliefs since the day we met, and I believe in individual freedom. I want to decide what I want to do with my body. I think I don't want government in my personal business."
Melania Trump suggested that "timing really matters," implying support for "restrictions" on abortion at certain points in pregnancy. Bartiromo noted that the book's release comes less than a month before the 2024 presidential election, where former president Donald Trump hopes to gain support from the pro-life movement as he seeks a return to the White House.
Insisting, "That was not written in the last week or the last month," Melania Trump stressed, "That was my belief, and it is my belief, and I wanted to put it in the book because I want to be authentic."
Regarding her thoughts on how her husband and the Republican Party have "handled the issue," the former first lady reiterated she had his blessing on expressing her beliefs on abortion in the book:
"He knew it would be in the book. He let me be who I am, and he let me believe what I believe. He let me be my own person."
"I let him be his own person," she added. "He has different beliefs, and he will do what he believes."
According to The Christian Post, former president Trump also drew concerns on the abortion issue. Despite expressing gratitude for the U.S. Supreme Court, including three of the justices he appointed, who voted to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide, he also vowed that he would not sign a federal abortion ban if he won the 2024 presidential election.
Trump also drew criticism from pro-life organizations for describing Florida's ban on abortion after six weeks as "terrible." While he also suggested that he would vote to overturn the ban, the former president later clarified he would vote against it.
During an NBC News interview, Trump expressed support for the idea of taxpayer-funded in-vitro fertilization. Although it is typically seen as an infertility treatment, some pro-life supporters view the procedure in the same category as abortion because it results in the creation of many embryos that are often frozen and sometimes destroyed.
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.