Donald Trump was the first presidential candidate to raise the issue of punishing women who get abortions if the operation is made illegal. Now, it's Trump who's getting punished for his abortion "stand" — by his own party.
Ever since the GOP was hijacked by the extreme right, one of the thickest and most controversial planks in its platform has been to outlaw abortions. In March, Trump, once decidedly pro-choice, announced that if abortion were to be outlawed, then women who choose to have an abortion should be punished.
Oops! Did I say women? Trump quickly asked and retracted his statements, saying he meant doctors, the next day.
Recommended For You
Trump's troubling record on abortion is now causing him grief, as former candidate Ted Cruz continues to challenge Trump to make a bolder statement — one demonstrating his own anti-abortion mindset. Cruz and other GOP leaders worry about Trump and his stance on making abortion illegal.
Asked about whether he was concerned that the GOP could send a pro-choice politician to the White House, Cruz remarked: "One of the reasons that we are continuing to work to elect conservatives to be delegates, even though Donald has the delegates to get the nomination, we intend to do everything we can to fight for conservative principles to prevent Washington forces from watering down the platform. The platform is a manifestation of what we believe as a party, and I think it is important that it continue to reflect conservative values, free-market values, constitutional liberties, Judeo-Christian principles, the values that built this country, and that is exactly what I intend to fight for."
While it is uncertain where that leaves American Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus, Cruz said he'll continue to harangue Trump on abortion as long as he feels the real estate tycoon's position isn't sufficiently conservative.
Trump has made concessions since his "punishment" misstep, but they have generally involved attempts to get his fellow Republicans to take their abortion stance back a notch. For instance, he has stated that the party should include a rape and incest exception in its policy but even that has conservatives worried that Trump's true colors have yet to emerge on the issue.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
