Melania Trump, the former First Lady, said in a video on Thursday that there was “no room for compromise” on a woman’s right to “individual freedom”, a day after a reported excerpt from her coming memoir said she supported abortion rights.

Melania Trump’s comments landed as former President Donald Trump and members of his party have struggled to convey a softer impression of their opposition to abortion, a key issue threatening his support with female voters and his attempt to return to the White House.

She made her remarks in a promotional video for a new memoir scheduled for release on Tuesday. Her husband, who opposes federal abortion rights and has taken credit for helping overturn Roe v. Wade, did not immediately comment.

“Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard,” she said in the video, which was posted to her account on the social platform X.

“Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth, individual freedom. What does ‘my body, my choice’ really mean?”

On Wednesday evening, The Guardian published excerpts from Melania Trump’s book, in which she went further than her words in the video: “A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.”

She also defended some abortions performed in the later stages of pregnancy, mostly out of medical necessity or to save the life of the mother: “As a community, we should embrace these common-sense standards. Again, timing matters.”

New York Times News Service