Trump is trying to allay concerns on abortion, and abortion opponents aren't happy

Anti-abortion rights activists are raising concerns about recent comments from former President Donald Trump, in which he appears to be trying to soften his position on abortion.

In a Friday post on Truth Social, Trump — whose appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court helped overturn a constitutional right to an abortion — said, “My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights.”

That statement followed an interview with CBS News earlier in the week, in which Trump indicated he would not use a 19th century anti-obscenity law to restrict abortion pills, as some activists have suggested.

Trump told CBS that he “generally speaking would not” use the 1873 Comstock Act to restrict access to the medication.

“It’s gonna be available and it is now,” Trump said.

A political calculation

Trump’s remarks came on the heels of last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, in which abortion rights were a major theme — and as Republicans worry the issue could hurt them at the ballot box in November. Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decisionin 2022, voters have repeatedly signaled support for access to abortion.

Trump has stressed that he believes regulation of abortion should be left to the states. But his latest comments have prompted pushback from some abortion rights opponents, who make up a key part of the Republican base.

Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, called Trump’s comments “concerning.” In a statement to the National Review, Pence said, “The former President’s use of the language of the Left, pledging that his administration would be ‘great for women and their reproductive rights’ should be concerning for millions of pro-life Americans.”

Earlier this year, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of