Donald Trump is calling for women to be punished if they get an abortion if the practice were banned.
The GOP front-runner spoke about abortion during an MSNBC town hall expected to air at a later date.
When asked by host Chris Matthews about his anti-abortion position, Trump affirmed that he was “pro-life” and then described punishment for women who get an abortion.
“I would say that’s a very serious problem and it’s a problem we have to decide on. Are you going to send them to jail?” according to a transcript obtained by Bloomberg.
When pushed by Matthews about whether there should be punishment for abortion if it were outlawed in the U.S., Trump affirmed, “There should be some form of punishment.”
He said that the exact form of that would have to be determined. Trump then quickly pivoted to the Supreme Court, saying that a conservative replacement for late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia is desperately needed.
“When you say what’s the law, nobody knows what the law is going to be,” he said. “It depends on who gets elected.”
The comments come amid polling that shows little support for Trump among women. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 47 percent of female Republicans would have a hard time voting for Trump. Overall about 70 percent of women had an negative view of Trump.
Trump also has pledged to stand by his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who was charged with battery for grabbing a female reporter on March 8.
