Blitz Bureau
NEW YORK: In a newly released memoir, former First Lady Melania Trump shares her pro-choice stance on abortion.
Ahead of the book’s release on October 8, several media outlets had published reports on some of its revelations, including her views on abortion – sparking backlash given her husband’s anti-abortion stance.
She revealed some of the most controversial remarks from her book before it was actually published, posting on social media last week that women have a right to “individual freedom”.
In her memoir, she says, “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.”
“A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” she added.
Melania has since faced a backlash for the remarks, including from anti-abortion activists within the Republican Party. As Democrats have used the issue of reproductive rights to galvanise voters, Trump has flip flopped on the issue. He has taken credit for helping overturn Roe v Wade, upending the constitutional right to abortion. Other times, he has criticised Republican abortion bans as too strict.