Former US first lady Melania Trump writes in her upcoming memoir that a woman has the right to an abortion – in direct opposition to her husband’s support for US states to be able to impose restrictions.

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body?” Melania Trump writes in her memoir, according to an excerpt published by The Guardian.

The book – titled Melania – will be published on October 8, just four weeks before the November 5 US presidential election in which Donald Trump faces Democrat Kamala Harris.

“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body. I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life,” Melania is reported as writing.

The Guardian said on Wednesday it had obtained a copy of the book. A spokesperson for the former first lady did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Donald Trump, a Republican, had previously signalled support for a national ban beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy.

But in April he said political considerations were paramount in the first presidential election since the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision, ending a nearly 50-year federal right to the procedure.

EVERYONE KNOWS I WOULD NOT SUPPORT A FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, AND WOULD, IN FACT, VETO IT, BECAUSE IT IS UP TO THE STATES TO DECIDE BASED ON THE WILL OF THEIR VOTERS (THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE!). LIKE RONALD REAGAN BEFORE ME, I FULLY SUPPORT THE THREE…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2024

Trump says abortion laws should be decided by the states and backs exceptions to a ban on abortion in the case of rape, incest and to protect the mother’s life.

Polls show the presidential election is a tight race with seven battleground states likely to decide the outcome.

Reproductive freedom – issues such as abortion and IVF – has become a hot topic in the keenly contested US election.

It was also front and centre when the main candidates’ running mates, JD Vance and Tim Walz, squared off for a televised debate on Wednesday (Australian time).

The Democrats’ Walz criticised the Republican campaign’s position that abortion was a state issue.

“This is basic human rights. We have seen maternal mortality skyrocket in Texas, outpacing many other countries in the world,” he said.

“Just mind your own business on this. Things worked best when Roe v Wade was in place.”

Walz said Trump “brags about how great it was that he put the judges in and overturned Roe v Wade”, and noted that legal changes had led to devastating consequences for some American women.

“If you don’t know [women like this], you soon will. Their Project 2025 is going to have a registry of pregnancies,” Walz said.

In a debate that was notable largely for its polite tone, that comment was one that was contested by Trump’s running mate, Vance.

However Vance, who has previously backed severe restrictions on abortion rights, also acknowledged many Americans do not trust Republicans on abortion.

“One of the things that changed is in the state of Ohio. We had a referendum in 2023 and the people of Ohio voted overwhelmingly, by the way, against my position,” he said.

“I think that what I learned from that is that we’ve got to do a better job at winning back people’s trust.”

Democrats see abortion rights as a popular issue for Harris to use against Trump.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from August 21-28 found a majority of voters, including 34 per cent of Republicans, want the next president to protect or increase abortion access.

Trump takes credit for the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v Wade decision in 2022, which had protected a right to abortion at up to 24 to 28 weeks, because justices appointed by Trump swung the vote.

-with AAP