In a long-awaited revelation of his stance on abortion, former President Donald Trump said he believes states should decide how to handle abortion policy.

In a video posted to Truth Social, Trump said, “My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state.”

“Many states will be different. Many states will have a different number of weeks…at the end of the day it is all about the will of the people,” he added.

Taking pride in his role he played in the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe, which happened in June 2022 with a conservative majority he helped put together, Trump pointed out how legal scholars on both sides of the political aisle have been in support of the move.

“The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life and the side of mothers, fathers and their beautiful babies. IVF is an important part of that,” he stated.

Without clarifying the term limits he supports for abortion, the former president supported exceptions in cases of forceful penetration, incest and when the life of the mother hangs on the balance.

Trump’s statement did not go down well with many pro-life conservatives. Majorie Dannenfelser, President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life, a top anti-abortion group in the U.S. expressed deep disappointment in the former president’s announcement, which she believes is a victory for Democrats.

“Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act,” she said, adding, “Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.”

Trump has also received pushback from Republican politicians, including his running mate turned political rival, former Vice President Mike Pence.

Declaring on X that “Trump’s retreat on the Right to Life is a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020,” Pence stated, “By nominating and standing by the confirmation of conservative justices, the Trump-Pence Administration helped send Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history where it belongs and gave the pro-life movement the opportunity to compassionately support women and unborn children.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is another notable Republican who does not support Trump’s stance on the issue. Despite being a close ally of Trump, the lawmaker stood on the need for a national abortion ban, saying, “I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue. Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child – not geography.”

“The states’ rights only rationale today runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions and will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision. The science is clear – a child at fifteen weeks is well-developed and is capable of feeling pain,” he added.