Melania Trump passionately defends abortion rights in upcoming memoir

Melania Trump has rarely expressed political views in public. Her book, Melania, which reveals the former first lady to be so firmly out of step with most of her own party, will be published in the US next Tuesday. The Guardian obtained a copy.

In 2022, in the supreme court case Dobbs v Jackson, three justices installed when Donald Trump was president voted to strike down Roe v Wade, the ruling which had protected federal abortion rights since 1973. Republican-run states have since instituted draconian abortion bans.

Donald Trump himself recently got into a tangle over whether he would vote in November to protect abortion rights in Florida, a ballot his wife will also cast given their residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. He eventually said he would vote no. Judging by her own words, Melania Trump appears likely to vote yes.

Before discussing abortion, Melania Trump says she disagreed with her husband on some aspects of immigration policy, not least as an immigrant herself.

And yet, later in her book, she states views on abortion and reproductive rights diametrically opposed to those of her husband and his party.

More than 90% of US abortions occur at or before 13 weeks of gestation, according to data from the CDC. Less than 1% of abortions take place at or after 21 weeks.

He was factchecked: it is not legal in any state to kill a baby after birth.

The Trump campaign did not immediately comment.

On social media, Melania Trump doubled down, posting a short video in which she paraphrased remarks in her book.

On the page, Melania Trump issues a distinctly un-Trumpian appeal for empathy.

Recent reporting has highlighted cases of women who have died in states where abortion has been banned.

She goes on to appeal for compassion.

Finally, Melania Trump offers an expression of solidarity with protesters for reproductive rights.