Trump yet to clarify his abortion pill policy as SCOTUS rules on mifepristone

(WASHINGTON) — Even as the U.S. Supreme Court upheld access to the abortion pill mifepristone in a unanimous decision on Thursday, former President Donald Trump has yet to disclose his own abortion pill policy.

For months, Trump has teased that he’d release policy details pertaining to the issue soon, but that moment has yet to come.

Trump has been vague when it comes to reproductive rights as he himself acknowledges the importance of not alienating voters with his position in order to win elections. However, his comments come in an election year as abortion and contraception access remain key issues for many voters headed into November’s election.

Trump’s campaign pushed back, saying that the former president has been “very clear.”

“He supports the rights of states to make decisions on abortion, and supports exceptions for abortions in cases of rape, incest, and life of the mother,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

When the unanimous decision came down Thursday morning, the former president was meeting with congressional Republicans, but sources said he did not mention the ruling directly. Instead, he spoke of the Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 — a landmark decision that he takes credit for.

“We did that — it was an incredible thing, an incredible achievement. We did that. And now the states have it, and the states are putting out what they want. It’s the will of the people,” Trump said previously of the court’s vote to overrule Roe v. Wade.

On the Supreme Court decision, Trump campaign Senior Adviser Danielle Alvarez said, “The Supreme Court has unanimously decided 9-0. The matter is settled.”

Trump has said abortion restriction decisions should be up to the states and insisted he believes in three exceptions: rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.

He has not said if he personally favors a certain number of weeks into pregnancy at which state-level bans should take effect, though he has publicly criticized a six-week ban in Florida and, more recently, talked privately about the idea of a national 16-week ban with exceptions, sources told ABC News in February.

Earlier this week, Trump spoke at the Life & Liberty Forum hosted by the Danbury Institute, an organization that says it promotes Judeo-Christian values and opposes abortion — where he did not mention abortion.

Trump told the group he’d stand by their side and vaguely told the anti-abortion group they would make a “comeback” if he’s reelected.

“These are going to be your years because you’re going to make a comeback like just about no other group,” Trump said to the group.

Last month, Trump faced backlash as he tried to walk back comments he made suggesting he’s open to restricting contraceptives.

“Well, we’re looking at that and we’re going to have a policy on that very shortly,” Trump said during an interview with Pittsburgh TV station KDKA-TV. “And I think it’s something you’ll find interesting and it’s another issue that’s very interesting.”

Again, in late April, during an interview with TIME, Trump said he would have a statement out in two weeks explaining his position on mifepristone; however, when pressed on when the delayed announcement would be revealed, campaign sources told ABC News it would happen soon.

President Joe Biden has been more clear on the issue. Biden has made abortion a key issue in what is expected to be a tight race, and Vice President Kamala Harris has capitalized on the issue on the campaign trail.

Biden has blamed Trump for the spread of abortion bans since the end of Roe v. Wade, encouraging voters to support reproductive rights — and him — in November.

“[Trump is] wrong, the Supreme Court was wrong. It should be a constitutional right in the federal Constitution, a federal right, and it shouldn’t matter where in America you live,” Biden said in a speech in April. “This isn’t about states’ rights, this is about women’s rights.”

Democratic National Committee press secretary Emilia Rowland emphasized the stakes of the election, specifically toward reproductive freedoms. She said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday “does not change the fact that because of Trump, millions of women in states across the country cannot access the health care they need,”

Biden on Thursday reminded voters that the fight for women’s reproductive freedom is not over.

“Today’s decision does not change the fact that the fight for reproductive freedom continues,” Biden said in a statement. “It does not change the fact that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, and women lost a fundamental freedom.”

Leavitt, with the Trump campaign, said “Joe Biden does not have any good policy of his own, so his failing campaign peddles lies about President Trump’s views in a dishonest attempt to fear voters into supporting him.”

ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Jay O’Brien, John Parkinson, Benjamin Siegel and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.

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