Melania defends abortion as Donald Trump says states should decide, Guardian reports

By Costas Pitas

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Melania Trump writes in her upcoming memoir that a woman has the right to an abortion, The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday, while her husband, Donald Trump, backs the ability for U.S. states to restrict the procedure.

"Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body?" Melania Trump writes in her memoir that is due to be published four weeks before the Nov. 5 election, in which her husband faces Democrat Kamala Harris.

"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," she was reported as writing in the memoir.

The Guardian said it has obtained a copy of the book, titled "Melania," that is due to be published on Oct. 8. A spokesperson for the former first lady did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Donald Trump, a Republican, had previously signaled support for a national ban beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy but in April said political considerations were paramount in the first presidential election since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, ending a nearly 50-year federal right to the procedure.

Trump says abortion laws should be decided by the states and backs exceptions to a ban on abortion in the case of rape, incest and to protect the mother's life.

Polls show the presidential election is a tight race with seven battleground states likely to decide the outcome.

Democrats see abortion rights as a popular issue for Harris to use against Trump. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from August 21-28 found a majority of voters, including 34% of Republicans, want the next president to protect or increase abortion access.

“Sadly for the women across America, Mrs. Trump’s husband firmly disagrees with her and is the reason that more than one in three American women live under a Trump Abortion Ban that threatens their health, their freedom, and their lives," a Harris campaign spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Trump takes credit for the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, which had protected a right to abortion at up to around 24 to 28 weeks, because justices appointed by Trump swung the vote.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Eric Beech and Michael Perry)