Anti-abortion groups tried to distance themselves from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday after he said in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that abortion should be banned and that there should be "some form of punishment" for patients who receive the procedure.
Trump’s comments were out of step with what other Republicans have said about abortion -- namely, that the doctors who perform the procedure are the ones who should be punished, rather than the patients who undergo it. Anti-abortion groups often argue that patients who get the procedure do so out of desperation and regret it later. It's uncommon to hear them say that patients themselves ought to be charged or otherwise penalized.
