Why Trump's "Clarification" on Abortion is Just as Terrifying for Women

Donald Trump may have “walked back” his outrageous comments on abortion rights this week, but reproductive health advocates say his thrice-revised position is no less offensive—or dangerous—to women and medical professionals.

Over the course of several hours on Wednesday afternoon and evening, the Republican presidential frontrunner and his campaign issued no fewer than three statements on the subject.

First, Trump said women who seek abortions should be punished if the procedure were to be outlawed in the United States.

Later, a campaign spokesperson sent reporters a statement attributed to Trump, which read: “This issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination. Like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions, which I have outlined numerous times.”

And then, in a separate statement, the campaign clarified further:

The spin continued Thursday morning, when a Trump aide told CNN: “It was a complete misspeak during a conversation over a hypothetical concept and there was a clarification issued.” Asked whether Trump supports a national ban on abortion, the spokeswoman said: “This is a state issue, that’s the point here, these are states’ issues.”

Trump’s so-called “reversal” is more in line with the stance of leading anti-choice groups. As Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, said in a statement on Wednesday, “let us be clear: punishment is solely for the abortionist who profits off of the destruction of one life and the grave wounding of another.”

But not only does this position ignore the fact that many women in the U.S. already face “punishment” in the form of harsh laws and daunting financial and logistical barriers to abortion—many of which stem from state-level attacks on abortion clinics and providers—it harms patients by criminalizing medical professionals.

“Punishing doctors for providing safe abortion care is not any better than punishing women,” Kelly Baden, director of state advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said on Twitter.

Writing at Bustle, reporter Melissah Yang echoed that charge: