Pro-life activists react to Melania Trump backing abortion rights in her memoir saying it is 'undercutting President Trump's message'

Pro-life activists have warned that Melania Trump's backing of abortion rights could undercut former president Trump's message on this issue in the lead up to the November election.

The former First Lady, 54, reveals in her upcoming memoir, due out next week, that she supports a woman's right to choose as a staunch defender of 'individual liberty' and 'personal freedom' - a position she has held for her 'entire adult life'.

'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,' she writes in the book.

But pro-life activists were quick to blast Melania for having an opinion that differs from her husband's. 

Kristan Hawkins, president of the Students for Life of America, wrote on Twitter/X: 'It’s hard to follow the logic of putting out the former First Lady’s book right before the election undercutting President Trump’s message to pro-life voters. What a waste of momentum.'

Hawkins continued in a lengthy post on Twitter/X last night, judging that Melania's 'support' of abortion is 'anti-feminist and clearly outside the teaching of our Catholic faith'.

'Abortion ends an innocent life & is the opposite of empowerment, as women are told they can't balance the gift of children and career, so they have to pick one.

'Christ helps us prosper at home, at school, at work, as mothers, and even as role models. 

'What a lost opportunity to inspire a generation of young women. I won't be buying Melania's book.'

Anna Derbyshire, a campaigner for the CitizenGO ultra-conservative advocacy group, weighed in: 'Abortionists don’t empower women, they tell women that as mothers they can’t be empowered! 

'They degrade the baby to non human and degrade the mother to incapable.'

User @tacticalthomist replied to Ms Hawkins, saying: 'Disavow Trump, then.' 

Andy Thomas said: 'More reasons my wife and I are #writinginDeSantis' 

Liz Mair, an anti-abortion Republican campaign strategist, told The Guardian: 'This might be just another thing that piles on to make pro-lifers think: "I just can’t with [Trump]." 

'A lot of them were single-issue voters anyway. He's not really giving them much of an incentive to show up and do anything to his benefit.'

Not all agreed. Responding to Ms Hawkins, user Galtcat said: 'I am pro-life but I respect people with a different opinions. Trashing people who you don't [agree with] is an indicator of a person with no sense of decency.'

Allie Renison added: 'At least be rational enough to know there is more than one interpretation of what counts for feminism. 

'For you it’s being anti-abortion. That’s your right to hold that view and I respect it but you don’t have a universal monopoly on that definition.' 

Michael Antonio said: 'But not all pregnancies are viable. Not every woman wants to conceive the child of her rapist.' 

Melania positions herself in the memoir as someone who believes in fundamental human rights, including a woman's to safeguard her own life, which she says extends to the 'authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes'.

'Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body,' she writes, as revealed by The Guardian.

She goes on to explain in some detail what she believes are 'legitimate' reasons for abortion, including danger to the life of the mother, rape or incest and severe medical conditions.

'It is important to note that historically, most abortions conducted during the later stages of pregnancy were the result of severe fetal abnormalities that probably would have led to the death or stillbirth of the child. Perhaps even the death of the mother. 

'These cases were extremely rare and typically occurred after several consultations between the woman and her doctor. As a community, we should embrace these common-sense standards. Again, timing matters.'

It is a position on which she differs greatly from her husband. Donald Trump famously overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that generally protected a right to have an abortion.

Melania writes that this has, at times, resulted in political disagreements between her and her husband - but that she has believed in challenging him privately.

Later in the book, she explains why she supports abortion. 

'I have always believed it is critical for people to take care of themselves first,' she says. 'It's a very straightforward concept; in fact, we are all born with a set of fundamental rights, including the right to enjoy our lives.'

'We are all entitled to maintain a gratifying and dignified existence. This common-sense approach applies to a woman's natural right to make decisions about her own body and health.'

Melania's admission comes just one month before her husband battles it out in the presidential election with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, with abortion rights set to be one of the most decisive issues among voters.

Harris has framed herself as the 'pro-choice' candidate, while Trump has struggled to find a clear position on the issue.

Certainly, he has been happy to take credit for helping to pave the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that federally gave women a right to an abortion. 

As president, Trump appointed three of the conservative justices who voted in 2022 to overturn Roe. He has said he has 'no regrets' over the appointments.

While the overturning has been cheered by the anti-abortion wing of the Republican Party, the former president has more recently realized that the GOP has found itself imperiled over the issue.

Since the 2022 ruling, Democrats have had a succession of election wins by campaigning on abortion. It is thought that Republicans underperformed during the 2022 midterms becuase of it. 

In August, Trump exclusively told DailyMail.com that he might vote to end Florida's six-week abortion ban when it comes up in a referendum later this year.

Days later, after irritating the anti-abortion wing of his party, he said he wouldn't vote to overturn the six-week limit. 

On Tuesday this week, Trump finally said that he would veto a federal abortion ban, having previously avoided giving a clear answer.