Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate who carries the most poll favor among South Carolina primary constituents, said he'd sign a bill to defund Planned Parenthood if elected to the presidency – but also acknowledged the group offered other medical services to women that were worthwhile.
"[A]s long as they do the abortion, I am not for funding Planned Parenthood, but they do cervical cancer work," Trump said, in an interview on Christian Broadcast Network from South Carolina. "They do a lot of good things for women but as long as they're involved with the abortions ... as far as I'm concerned, forget it, I wouldn't fund them regardless. But they do do other good work."
He mentioned "cervical cancer" and said he's heard positive things about Planned Parenthood from some women.
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"I've had women tell me they do some excellent work so I think you also have to put that into account," he said. "But I would defund Planned Parenthood because of their view and the fact of their work on abortion."
Host David Brody prompted Trump for more explanation, saying "there are other groups" outside of Planned Parenthood that perform similar medical work for women.
And Trump's response?
"That's right, but they do a big job," he said. "There are a lot of women taken care of by Planned Parenthood, so we have to remember that, but I am for defunding Planned Parenthood as long as they are involved with abortion."
Trump also told Brody he believed the Roe v. Wade landmark case that opened the door to nationwide abortion-on-demand for women was wrongly decided.
"It's been very strongly decided," he said, "but it can be changed. Things are put there and they're passed but they can be un-passed with time, but it's going to take time because you have a lot of judges to go."
Asked whether he believes the landmark abortion case was wrongly decided, he said, “I do.”
A Fox News poll released Thursday shows Trump leading Sen. Ted Cruz among likely Republican voters in South Carolina, a state populated by a large number of evangelicals.
The Cruz campaign has just released an ad that attacks Trump on his record of abortion beliefs that includes footage of the billionaire businessman from 1999 saying he's "very pro-choice." The ad concludes by pointing to the vacancy at the Supreme Court from Justice Antonin Scalia's death and stating: "We cannot trust Donald Trump with these serious decisions."
Trump's campaign responded with a threat of a lawsuit.
In a letter to Cruz, Trump's attorney called the ad "replete with outright lies, false, defamatory and destructive statements," and threatened to hold the senator accountable for damages if the campaign didn't stop running it.
Cruz reacted to the letter via a press conference in South Carolina, reading portions of the cease-and-desist document and calling it "one of the most remarkable letters I have ever read" in a mocking tone. Cruz also challenged Trump to go ahead and sue – the allegations and threats were "laughable," he said, Fox News reported.
He said to South Carolina voters: "Are you seriously suggesting that the voter should not be allowed to hear what Mr. Trump has said or know what Mr. Trump has done?"
CBN, meanwhile, said evangelicals have a decision to make.
"Ted Cruz says you can't trust Trump on this issue," CBN's Brody wrote on his blog. "But [Trump's] on record now saying he would defund Planned Parenthood. Will that be good enough for some evangelicals? Trump is asking voters to trust him. Cruz says go by what candidates do, not what they say."