Trump reverses stance on punishing women for abortions

MILWAUKEE - Shortly after igniting a firestorm by saying that women who have illegal abortions should be punished, Donald Trump reversed his stance on the issue.

In a new statement Wednesday, Trump said that only doctors who perform abortions would be punished if the procedure were outlawed by the federal government or Congress.

'The doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman,” the statement said. 'The woman is a victim in this case, as is the life in her womb.”

Even as he reversed his position, Trump said 'my position has not changed.”

The controversy started a few hours earlier when Trump was asked about his stance on abortion during an MSNBC town hall. 'There has to be some form of punishment” for a woman who gets an abortion, he said.

The comment spurred a quick bipartisan response, with sharp criticism from Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as well as a rebuke from Republican candidate John Kasich. The anti-abortion group March for Life called Trump's comments 'completely out of touch with the pro-life movement.”