--- description: Former First Lady Melania Trump laid out her view that women should have the right to choose. title: Melania Trump Shares Her Views on Abortion in New Interview image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d1065ff5403be05/698a6b91b21a9c320850c1cf/GettyImages-2136582336.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Melania Trump Shares Her Views on Abortion in New Interview—and Donald's Reaction ## Video: Here’s What Harris and Trump Said About Abortion in the 2024 Presidential Debate [Watch (HLS stream): Here’s What Harris and Trump Said About Abortion in the 2024 Presidential Debate](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/b6JeEC4U.m3u8) (2:23)  _Published 2024-09-11. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump lambasted one another over their stances on abortion during the presidential debate Tuesday night._  by [Rebecca Schneid](/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Oct 6, 2024 7:46 PM CUT  Donald Trump is pictured with his wife, Melania Trump, on April 6, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. Donald Trump is pictured with his wife, Melania Trump, on April 6, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida.Alon Skuy—Getty Images  by [Rebecca Schneid](/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Oct 6, 2024 7:46 PM CUT Former First Lady Melania Trump—the wife of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump—laid out her supportive position on abortion rights in a new interview on FOX’s _Sunday Morning Futures_, which aired on Oct. 6. Reporter [Maria Bartiromo introduced the topic](https://x.com/SundayFutures/status/1842954901854499167 "undefined") by reading out a portion of Melania’s upcoming memoir, _Melania_, including a section where she writes she is pro-choice, and a passage that states it “is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from intervention or pressure from the government.” When asked whether she spoke with her husband about her articulation of abortion rights before publishing them in her memoir, Melania backed up her comments. “Yes, he knew my position and my beliefs since the day we met, and I believe in individual freedom,” she said. “I want to decide what I want to do with my body. I think... I don’t want government in my personal business. I think it’s very important.” The interview comes after [_The Guardian_ reported](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/02/melania-trump-memoir-defends-abortion-rights "undefined") earlier this week that Melania’s new memoir includes strong declarations of her support for abortion rights. “Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” Melania writes in the memoir, according to _The Guardian._ She goes on to say she has held these pro-choice convictions for the entirety of her adult life. **Read More:** [_Here’s Where Abortion Will Be on the Ballot in the 2024 Election_](https://time.com/7018665/abortion-ballot-measures-2024/ "undefined") Melania's reported statements in the memoir were followed by a promotional video posted on her official X (formerly Twitter) account, where she told the camera that “individual freedom is a fundamental principle that \[she\] safeguard\[s\].” Donald addressed his wife’s stance in an [interview with FOX News](https://www.foxnews.com/video/6362817926112 "undefined")’ Bill Melugin, which aired Oct. 3., soon after _The Guardian’s_ reporting. When Melugin asked what the former President thought when he read the book, he replied that he told his wife to “write what \[she\] believe\[s\].” “I’m not going to tell you what to do,” Donald said, “I said \[to Melania\], ‘You have to stick with your heart.’” Melania’s comments come just one month before the presidential election, in which her husband and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris have been embroiled in [battles over abortion rights](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-harris-abortion-2024/ "undefined"). Harris has repeatedly called out the Republican candidate for his role in the [_Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization_](https://time.com/6189476/abortion-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade/ "undefined") ruling that rolled back abortion rights_,_ particularly because the former President appointed three of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of overturning the landmark decision. In the nominee’s [presidential debate in September](https://time.com/7019804/harris-trump-debate-abortion/ "undefined"), the Republican candidate[ falsely claimed](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-falsely-claims-democrats-support-abortions-after-birth/ "undefined") that the Democratic party’s position on abortion rights includes the support for “execution after birth.” Meanwhile, during the vice-presidential debate on Oct.1, Donald’s running mate, J.D. Vance, [spoke more moderately](https://time.com/7027577/vance-walz-debate-abortion/ "undefined") on the issue, saying he “never supported a national ban” for abortion—while in the past [he said that](https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/17/politics/kfile-jd-vance-abortion-comments/index.html "undefined") he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” He went on to say during the debate that the Republican party has “to do so much better of a job at earning the American people’s trust on this issue where they frankly just don’t trust us.” Beyond the presidential ballot, abortion rights [will be on the ballot](https://time.com/7018665/abortion-ballot-measures-2024/ "undefined") in 10 different states during the general election on Nov. 5. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7050707/melania-trump-abortion-views-memoir-interview-donald-trump-reaction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7050707/melania-trump-abortion-views-memoir-interview-donald-trump-reaction/"},"headline":"Melania Trump Shares Her Views on Abortion in New Interview—and Donald's Reaction","datePublished":"2024-10-06T19:46:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T18:23:44.339Z","description":"Former First Lady Melania Trump laid out her view that women should have the right to choose.","url":"https://time.com/7050707/melania-trump-abortion-views-memoir-interview-donald-trump-reaction/","keywords":["Donald Trump","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d1065ff5403be05/698a6b91b21a9c320850c1cf/GettyImages-2136582336.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d1065ff5403be05/698a6b91b21a9c320850c1cf/GettyImages-2136582336.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former President Trump Arrives At A Fundraiser In Palm Beach, Florida","caption":"Former President Trump Arrives At A Fundraiser In Palm Beach, Florida","creditText":"Alon Skuy—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7050707/melania-trump-abortion-views-memoir-interview-donald-trump-reaction/","name":"Melania Trump Shares Her Views on Abortion in New Interview—and Donald's Reaction"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Here’s What Harris and Trump Said About Abortion in the 2024 Presidential Debate","description":"Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump lambasted one another over their stances on abortion during the presidential debate Tuesday night.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/b6JeEC4U/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-09-11T03:28:31.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/b6JeEC4U.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7050707/melania-trump-abortion-views-memoir-interview-donald-trump-reaction/","duration":"PT2M23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7050707/melania-trump-abortion-views-memoir-interview-donald-trump-reaction/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```