Melania Trump reiterates her support for abortion rights in a new video, putting her at odds with her husband's position

CNN
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Former first lady Melania Trump said in a new video released Thursday that she believes there is “no room for compromise” when it comes to a woman's “individual freedom,” after The Guardian shared excerpts from her forthcoming book in which she says she supports abortion rights “free from any government intervention or pressure.”

“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I protect. Undoubtedly, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women have from birth: individual freedom. “What does my body, my choice really mean?” said the former first lady in a video posted on X.

Her defense of abortion rights puts her at odds with her husband's position about a month before Election Day. Donald Trump regularly boasts about overturning Roe v. Wade, which overturned federal abortion protections and led to the imposition of strict restrictions on the procedure in predominantly Republican-led states. However, the former president has stated that he would veto a federal abortion ban if re-elected and that legislation on the matter should be left to the states.

CNN has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on the former first lady's latest video.

The former president told Fox News on Thursday that he spoke to his wife about including her support for abortion rights in the memoir and that he told her to “write what you believe.”

“We talked about it and I said, 'You have to write down what you believe. I'm not going to tell you what to do. “You have to write down what you believe,” he said. “She is very popular. People love our former first lady. I can tell you that. But I said, “You have to go with your heart.” I told everyone: You have to go with your heart. There are some people who are very, very right on this issue, so without exception, and then there are others who see it a little differently.”

Melania Trump has been largely absent from the campaign trail during her husband's third bid for the White House, keeping a low profile aside from posting several videos on social media in recent weeks to promote her book, due out next week. The video, which the former first lady posted on Thursday, includes a link to pre-order her book.

According to The Guardian, the former first lady writes in her book: “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.”

The former president repeatedly waffled on abortion rights throughout his campaign, at times struggling to get a handle on an issue that was politically sensitive for Republicans in the post-Roe era. He recently said he would not support a ballot measure to expand abortion access in his home state of Florida, just 24 hours after he indicated he would. He has also taken to portraying himself as a “protector” of women, claiming that American women “wouldn't think about abortion” if he were elected.

While the former president has bragged about appointing three conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted with the majority to overturn Roe, he has publicly admitted that the issue is not for Republicans pushing for strict bans was profitable, and has emphasized his support for it. Exceptions exist in the case of rape, incest and when the mother's life is in danger.

Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats, meanwhile, have stepped up their insistence on making abortion the focus of their campaign for women in key states, citing state-level restrictions made possible in part by Trump's Supreme Court decisions. Harris had a clear advantage on the issue, which helped expand her lead with female voters nationally and in swing states.

“Unfortunately for women across America, Ms. Trump’s husband strongly disagrees and is the reason more than one in three American women live under a Trump abortion ban that threatens their health, their freedom and their lives,” Harris said Campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement to CNN on Thursday.

Melania Trump is not the first former Republican first lady to support abortion rights. Laura Bush, the wife of former President George W. Bush, said before her husband's inauguration that she did not believe Roe v. Wade should be repealed. She later said in an interview with CNN in 2010 after her husband left office that she supported legalizing abortion. Her mother-in-law Barbara Bush, the wife of former President George H. W. Bush, spoke out against including abortion in the 1992 GOP platform, saying it was a “personal thing.”

This article and headline have been updated with additional information.

CNN's Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.