In her new memoir, Melania Trump says women have the 'right to choose abortion': NPR

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to decide what she does with her own body?” asks Melania Trump in her new memoir, according to an early excerpt published by The Guardian. The former First Lady is seen here alongside her husband, former President Donald Trump, in cardboard cutouts at a campaign rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

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Former first lady Melania Trump says in her self-titled memoir, set to be released next week, that she supports women's autonomy and the right to control their own bodies — including abortion if they want.

“Undoubtedly, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this fundamental right that all women possess from birth,” she said in a short video released Thursday to promote her new book.

Melania Trump shared her views on abortion in coordinated messages across multiple social media channels, from her husband's Truth Social platform to Instagram.

Her stance gives further impetus to a presidential election campaign marked by dramatic events, in which Melania Trump speaks out on an issue that is a central issue in her husband's re-election.

“It is imperative to ensure that women have autonomy” when it comes to when and whether they have children, Trump writes in her book, according to an excerpt quoted by The Guardian. The newspaper claims to have received an early copy of the book.

These decisions, she said, should be based on women's personal beliefs and not on “interference or pressure from the government,” the excerpt said.

According to the The Guardian Melania Trump also writes:

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to decide what she does with her own body? A woman's fundamental right to individual freedom and her own life gives her the power to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.

Restricting a woman's right to decide whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body. I have carried this belief with me throughout my adult life.”

NPR has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on Melania Trump's writings and is asking the book's publisher to independently review the excerpt.

Abortion has long been a central issue in U.S. political campaigns, but the 2024 race comes two years after the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which found there was no constitutional right to abortion.

Democrats used that controversial ruling as a rallying cry, emphasizing that the crucial votes in the Supreme Court's decision came from justices nominated by then-President Donald Trump.

The former president's position on abortion has been closely analyzed as he tries to win back the White House.

“After 50 years of failure in which no one came close, I was able to defeat Roe v. “Killing Wade, much to everyone's 'shock,'” Trump said on his Truth Social platform last year.

But this year, Trump appeared to try to present a more nuanced position on abortion, saying, among other things, that deciding on abortion laws should be left to the states.

As NPR's Sarah McCammon reported after the 2022 midterm elections:

“Proponents of banning most abortions — including a series of state laws passed in recent years that ban the procedure within the first few weeks — are at odds with public opinion, according to long-standing polls. While most Americans support some restrictions on abortion, most support access earlier in pregnancy.”

Melania Trump's memoir titled Melaniawill be published by Skyhorse Publishing on October 8th and will be distributed by Simon & Schuster.

In its summary of the book, the publisher said of the former first lady: “She shares behind-the-scenes stories from her time in the White House, highlighting her advocacy and the causes she cares about.”

The former first lady was born in Slovenia in 1970, three years before the landmark Roe v. Wade Decision. She moved to the United States in 1996 and became a U.S. citizen in 2006.