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Facing Criticism, Trump Says He Won't Ban Birth Control

US President Donald Trump addresses the annual March for Life rally, taking place on the National Mall, from the White House Rose Garden in Washington, US, January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
US President Donald Trump addresses the annual March for Life rally, taking place on the National Mall, from the White House Rose Garden in Washington, US, January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Facing Criticism, Trump Says He Won't Ban Birth Control

US President Donald Trump addresses the annual March for Life rally, taking place on the National Mall, from the White House Rose Garden in Washington, US, January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
US President Donald Trump addresses the annual March for Life rally, taking place on the National Mall, from the White House Rose Garden in Washington, US, January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Donald Trump said he does not support a ban on birth control, after coming under fire for comments he made earlier in the day that political opponents said suggested he would consider restricting contraceptives.

“I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL," the Republican presidential candidate said on his social media site, Truth Social.

Earlier on Tuesday, he was asked in an interview with KDKA News in Pittsburgh if he supported any restrictions on the right of people to use contraception.

“We’re looking at that,” he responded, “and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly, and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting.”

Asked if that included the so-called morning-after pill, Trump said, “Things really do have a lot to do with the states, and some states are going to have different policy than others."

The fight over reproductive rights is a flashpoint in the 2024 presidential race, Reuters reported. Opinion polls show most Americans don’t favor strict limits on those rights, and Democrats are hoping the issue will encourage millions of women and independents to vote their way.

Democrat Joe Biden's campaign swiftly posted Trump's response on social media platform X, contending that Trump had said he would restrict the pill's use.

Trump, in his social media response, said Democrats were lying about his stance.

Trump was not asked about limits on the abortion drug mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug regimen to end pregnancies and not as a contraceptive.

Trump has promised for weeks to release a policy about mifepristone with regard to its use in states that restrict surgical abortions. Medication abortion has become the most common method of ending pregnancies, now accounting for more than 60% of US abortions.

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Russia Has Decided 'at Highest Level' to Remove Taliban from Terrorist List

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
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Russia Has Decided 'at Highest Level' to Remove Taliban from Terrorist List

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's Taliban movement Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, October 4, 2024. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a decision to remove the Taliban from a list of terrorist organizations had been "taken at the highest level", the state TASS news agency reported.
The decision needs to be followed up with various legal procedures in order to make it a reality, President Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, was quoted as saying.
Putin said in July that Russia considered Afghanistan's Taliban movement an ally in the fight against terrorism.
Russia has been slowly building ties with the Taliban since it seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war but the movement is still officially outlawed in Russia.
No country has formally recognized the Taliban as the country's legitimate leadership.
Russia added the Taliban to its list of terrorist organizations in 2003. Removing it would be an important step by Moscow towards normalizing relations with Afghanistan.
The Taliban's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in a speech in Moscow that recent decisions by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to remove the former insurgents from a list of banned groups was a welcome step.
"We also appreciate the positive remarks by the high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation in this regard and hope to see more effective steps soon," he said.
In separate comments on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was convinced of the need to maintain "pragmatic dialogue" with the current Afghan government.
"It is obvious that it is impossible to solve problems or even discuss an Afghan settlement without Kabul," Lavrov said.
"Moscow will continue its course on developing political, trade and economic ties with Kabul," he added, speaking at a meeting in Moscow with Muttaqi and representatives of neighboring countries.
While he did not mention the Taliban by name, he praised the current Afghan leadership for its efforts to curb drug production and fight ISIS, which is outlawed in Russia.
Muttaqi said that countries in the region should cooperate against the ISIS group, which he said had established training centers outside Afghanistan.
Lavrov said the United States should return confiscated assets to Afghanistan and the West should acknowledge responsibility for the post-conflict reconstruction of the country.
Lavrov also called for an increase in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, and said Russia would keep sending it food and essential goods.
Russia has a troubled history in Afghanistan, where the Soviet army invaded in 1979 to support a pro-Moscow government but withdrew 10 years later after sustaining heavy casualties at the hands of fighters.
Russia and its post-Soviet neighbors have suffered recurrent attacks from militant groups linked to Afghanistan - most recently in March, when 145 people were killed in an attack claimed by ISIS at a concert hall near Moscow.