"She's sounding remarkably like Kamala Harris" — Netizens react to Melania Trump defending women's reproductive rights in her memoir

Former First Lady Melania Trump has spoken up for reproductive rights in her upcoming memoir Melania. In her book, which is scheduled to be released on October 8, 2024, her views contradict those of her husband, Donald Trump, whose presidential campaign has focused on anti-abortion.

The Guardian received an early copy of her memoir and published snippets from the upcoming book detailing Melania's beliefs about women's autonomy.

“It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,” Melania Trump wrote in her memoir.

Melania Trump has rarely been forthright about her political views, so her strong pro-choice stance took people by surprise. Her views were met with mixed responses on social media, with one person tweeting:

A netizen's reaction to Melania Trump's memoir (Image via X)

Meanwhile, some appreciated Melania Trump speaking openly about her views, wondering why she didn't do so sooner.

"Maybe she should have spoken up sooner," one person tweeted.

"More than a modicum of redeeming quality," another person added.

"Republicans in Oregon and Washington state were the ones who made abortion legal in those states in 1969. She's an American. She has a right to her own opinion. I think she's missing out on some vital information, but she has a right to her opinion," someone else said.

Many pro-life people condemned Melania Trump's remarks, saying they disagreed with a woman's "right to kill her baby."

"I fundamentally disagree that a woman has the "right" to kill her baby. #BeProBaby," one person wrote.

"There’s no such thing as “a woman's fundamental right” to kill a child," another netizen commented.

"I didn't know this but it explains why she never stood up for pro life. I always wondered. She has no compassion whatsoever for the baby. She is hard-core. Disappointing. All wives of R presidents have been pro abortion," someone else added.

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Melania Trump says her stance on abortion is a part of her principles

In her upcoming self-named memoir, Melania Trump said that her stance on abortion sprang from her "core set of principles,” which were non-negotiable. She added that she carried this belief all through her life.

“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body. I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.”

Melania Trump also wrote that a woman's fundamental right to her own life gives her the authority to make decisions about her own body. She added there were plenty of legitimate reasons for women to consider abortion, be it r*pe, incest, birth defects, or danger to her life.

She also talked about late-term abortions, saying timing mattered. Melania Trump added most late-term abortions are done when the fetus is discovered to have abnormalities that may lead to its death or stillbirth.

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Abortion rights were discussed in the presidential debate

Abortion became a prime topic of contention between the Democratic and Republican parties during the presidential campaign. The issue was also extensively discussed during the debate, in which Democratic nominee Kamala Harris vowed to fight for reproductive rights.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump did not give a clear answer when asked whether he would sign a national abortion ban if he became president. He also falsely stated that abortions were carried out in the ninth month of pregnancy in some states, adding that Democrats wanted to “execute the baby” after it was born.

“The reason I’m doing that vote is because the plan is, as you know, the vote, is they have abortion in the ninth month, they even have, and you can look at the governor of West Virginia, the previous governor of West Virginia, not the current governor is doing an excellent job, but the governor before he said, the baby will be born and we will decide what to do with the baby, in other words, we’ll execute the baby,” Trump said.

The debate moderator, Linsey Davis, fact-checked him, saying no state allowed the legal murder of a baby after it is born.

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Republican candidate Donald Trump appointed three justices when he was president. They overturned Roe v Wade, a ruling that protected women's reproductive rights, in 2022. Since then, abortion rights have been governed by each state rather than a nationwide federal law.