Trump says US government has ‘vital role’ opposing abortion, won’t say if he backs national ban

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump said the federal government should play a “vital role” opposing abortion but again failed to provide specifics on what national restrictions he would support if elected to the White House again. He said he believes “the greatest progress is now being made in the states, where everyone wanted to be.” “One of the reasons they wanted Roe v. Wade terminated,” he said, “is to bring it back into the states where a lot of people feel strongly the greatest progress for pro-life is now being made.” But the former president also added, “There of course remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life.” Trump said he supports three exceptions to abortion restrictions in cases involving rape and incest or when the life of a mother is in danger. He took full credit for his role in the overturning of the landmark ruling and said he was “proud to be the most pro-life president in American history.” Though white evangelical Christians were initially reluctant to back Trump in 2016, his promises to appoint justices to the court who would overturn Roe — and the ruling’s eventual overturning — have earned him deep support in the evangelical movement. DeSantis, who addressed the Faith and Freedom conference Friday, declared that if elected president, he would nominate and appoint Supreme Court justices in the mold of Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case last year that ended constitutional protections for abortion. In a recent interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, DeSantis said he respects the three judges Trump appointed, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barret, but said “I would say we’ll do better than that.” “None of those three are at the same level” of Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case last year that ended constitutional protections for abortion.