Former President Donald Trump, while meeting with House Republicans Thursday, asked them to speak about abortion "correctly" while embracing exceptions to restrictions on the procedure and stressing that decisions are up to the states.
According to several members attending the session, Trump acknowledged during his closed-door meeting that Democrats are using abortion rights as their key weapon this election season, and said the issue is "too important to ignore," reports Axios.
According to a new Gallup poll released Thursday, a record-high 32% of U.S. voters say they will only vote for a candidate who shares their views on abortion.
Trump's comments are in line with those of the Republican establishment, particularly on stressing solutions on the state level that include exceptions such as in cases of rape or when the woman's life is in danger.
Meanwhile, at about the same time Trump was speaking, the Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a major abortion-related case, ruling that doctors who oppose the abortion pill mifepristone lack legal standing.
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who strongly backs strict abortion restrictions, said Trump's comments to the lawmakers signal that he won't pursue federal limits on abortion access, and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., commented that with the Senate filibuster, "we're not going to get any strong pro-life or pro-abortion policies passed" so decisions on the matter will remain at the state level.