Melania Trump defends abortion, challenging husband's campaign

 Abortion rights activists hold signs as they protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court during a rally in Washington, March 26, 2024. [Getty Images]

Melania Trump has voiced strong support for abortion rights in her upcoming memoir, taking a stance that sharply contrasts with her Republican White House candidate husband Donald Trump on a divisive US election issue.

Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign reacted quickly Thursday to the former first lady's unexpected revelation ahead of the November 5 vote.

According to book extracts, Melania Trump wrote that 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."

The former first lady's opinion diverges from that of her husband, who often brags that his picks of justices for the Supreme Court paved the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the end of the national right to abortion.

Since that 2022 court ruling, at least 20 US states have brought in full or partial restrictions, with Georgia banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Abortion is a major issue for voters in the tight presidential election race, and the Harris campaign jumped on the apparent disconnect.

"Sadly for the women across America, Mrs. Trump's husband firmly disagrees with her and is the reason that more than one in three American women live under a Trump Abortion Ban that threatens their health, their freedom and their lives," Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said.

"Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear: If he wins in November, he will ban abortion nationwide, punish women and restrict women's access to reproductive health care."

Trump told Fox News on Thursday that opinions on abortion differ across the country, and he had encouraged his wife to express herself honestly.

"We spoke about it, and I said, 'You have to write what you believe. I'm not going to tell you what to do. You have to write what you believe'," he told the network at a rally in Saginaw.

"There are some people that are very, very far right on the issue, meaning, without exceptions. And then there are other people that view it a little bit differently than that."

According to The Guardian, which said it had obtained a copy of the memoir ahead of its publication next week, Melania wrote that "restricting a woman's right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body."

Melania Trump, who has been barely seen on the campaign trail as her husband seeks a White House comeback, also posted a slick black-and-white video on social media, though she didn't mention abortion directly.

"Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard. Without a doubt there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth," she said, backed by the strains of sweeping classical music.

Her statements triggered fury from anti-abortion activists.

"It's hard to follow the logic of putting out the former First Lady's book right before the election undercutting President Trump's message to pro-life voters," Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America said on X.

"Abortion ends an innocent life and is the opposite of empowerment."

Other former Republican first ladies Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Laura Bush also took a pro-choice position on abortion, though after leaving the White House.