Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stated that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions during a town hall on MSNBC on Wednesday.
Trump was asked by moderator Chris Matthews what the law should be on abortion. He responded, “Well, I have been pro-life.” After Matthews asked again what the law should be, Trump stated, “They’ve set the law.”
After talking about the impact of the election on judicial appointments, Trump was asked, “Should the woman be punished for having an abortion? And this is not something you can dodge. If you say abortion is a crime, or abortion is murder, you have to deal with it under law, should abortion be punished?” He responded, “Well, people in certain parts of the Republican Party, and conservative Republicans would say yes, they should be punished.”
When asked for his own position, Trump stated that “it’s a very serious problem, and it’s a problem we have to decide on.” Trump further stated that you have to ban abortion, which will perhaps lead to people seeking illegal abortions.
Trump was further asked, “Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no, as a principle? He answered, “The answer is, that there has to be some form of punishment.” After Matthews followed up, “For the woman?” Trump stated, “Yeah. It has to some form.”
After further questioning, Trump told Matthews he didn’t know what the punishment would be.
He was later asked, “What about the guy that gets her pregnant, is he responsible, under the law, for these abortions, or is he not responsible for an abortion decision?”
Trump responded, “It has different feelings, different people. I would say no.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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