(LifeSiteNews) — President Donald Trump said abortion exceptions are “very important” and he will “look at” the possibility of exempting religious organizations from his proposed in-vitro fertilization (IVF) insurance mandate during an interview last night with Raymond Arroyo.
The EWTN host interviewed Trump before the annual Al Smith Dinner.
Trump has previously pledged to provide coverage of the embryo-destroying procedure nationwide, either through a private insurance mandate or through government programs. A LifeSiteNews analysis found such a mandate could lead to the intentional destruction of more than 2 million human embryonic children. Trump also recently said he is the “father of IVF.”
“Well, you know, I haven’t been asked that, but it sounds to me like a pretty good idea, frankly,” Trump said in response to a question on religious liberty exemptions to his IVF mandate. The former president stated his intention to “keep” his stance in favor of religious liberty should he be re-elected in November: “I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
“But even Catholics, a lot of them, they want IVF. It’s fertilization, basically,” he added.
“And, you know, they view that as helping a family, helping parents have a child,” Trump said. “And it’s a very popular thing. But certainly if there’s a religious problem, I think people should go with that. I really think they should be able to do that. But we will look at that.”
— Matt Lamb (@MattLamb22) October 18, 2024
The Catholic Church teaches that IVF is immoral and is a grave sin since it separates the marital act from procreation, and as a result, Catholics cannot publicly support it nor partake in it. It is “morally unacceptable” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The EWTN host asked Trump about claims he is now “pro-choice,” i.e., pro-abortion.
“Some of your supporters are saying, ‘Well, Trump is pro-choice now.’ What would you say to them?” Arroyo asked.
“No, no. I am like Ronald Reagan before me,” Trump said. “The exceptions are very important to me, and that’s the life of the mother, rape, and incest.”
He then went on to repeat his claim that “everybody” of all political stripes and “all legal scholars” wanted Roe v. Wade reversed, and the issue of abortion sent back to the states.
“And I have to tell you, I give great credit to brilliant Supreme Court justices,” Trump said. “We had six brilliant Supreme Court justices, and they had great courage. Our country will now come together.”
Trump has previously stated that his views on abortion are aligned with Reagan. However, the former president opposed rape exceptions while in office.
Furthermore, Trump’s opposition to any federal limits on abortion, as well as his campaign’s support for abortion drugs, goes far beyond “exceptions” to an otherwise complete prohibition on the killing of preborn children (or other limits such as a six-week “heartbeat” ban).
Trump, however, has said he will vote against a radical abortion amendment in Florida, after initially suggesting he thought the state’s protections for preborn babies at six weeks was too restrictive.