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Her husband has come under fire for enabling the erosion of reproductive rights, but former first lady Melania Trump comes out in her upcoming memoir as a staunch supporter of abortion rights, according to a new report.
“It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” Melania Trump states in the book, according to The Guardian. “Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”
The memoir, “Melania,” is due out a month before the presidential election. Her husband, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, arguably set the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending women’s federally constitutional right to choose an abortion. Trump has bragged about his role in the change while saying all he did was send the decision back to the states. Many states have since enacted bans.
Melania has always felt this way, according to her book, which seems set to upend norms for American first ladies yet again.
“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body,” she wrote, according to The Guardian, which obtained an advance copy. “I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.”
Her view stands in stark contrast to that of former President Donald Trump. Not only did he set the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and deny a woman’s right to choose abortion-related health care, he also has took credit for returning the decision to the states. Many states have since enacted abortion bans.
For Melania Trump, as with many reproductive-rights advocates, it’s a question of common sense. People must take care of themselves before anybody else, she writes, and are “entitled to maintain a gratifying and dignified existence,” including a woman’s “natural right to make decisions about her own body and health.”