Donald Trump’s wish to ban abortion sparks outcry from pro-life and pro-choice groups

His comments have been described as 'extreme', 'unhinged' and 'out of touch' with the American people

Pro-choice protesters face an increasingly harsh anti-abortion rhetoric from Republicans (Getty Images)

Women’s rights activists have defied and condemned Donald Trump’s proposal to ban abortion and to enforce “punishment” for women who terminate their pregnancies.

Hillary Clinton responded to the news: “Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse. Horrific and telling."

NARAL Pro-Choice America reminded its followers on twitter that one in three women will have an abortion by the age of 45.

“Not only is this an unhinged position far from where the American people are, but it is sure to endanger women were he to become president,” the organisation said in a statement.

According to figures from NARAL, seven out of 10 Americans support legal abortion. The comments come at a difficult time in the US, where the federal government has reduced restrictions around women taking the abortion pill, yet states like Utah are passing new laws to require women to undergo a general anesthetic if they have an abortion after 20 weeks.

Vicki Saporta, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, told The Independent that Donald Trump's comments "go further" and are "more extreme" than any current or proposed anti-abortion law around the country.

"The last thing we need is to send women to jail just because they've made their own healthcare choices," she said. "I don't think there would be support for these kinds of penalties."

Meanwhile the US Supreme Court is currently debating on whether to up hurdles on Texas abortion clinics, potentially severely restricting women's access to family planning in the state.

EMILY’s List, an organization that focuses on getting pro-choice Democratic women to run for office, also spoke out against the proposed ban. Communications director Marcy Stech said the last person women need to police their health care decisions is someone who has also called women “fat pigs”, “bimbos” and “disgusting animals”.

“Republicans are about to nominate a truly dangerous man to lead their fight to restrict women’s access to abortion,” she said.

Even pro-life organizations have spoken against Mr Trump’s proposal.

Mr Trump’s comment “is completely out of touch with the pro-life movement,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life Education and Defense Fund.

“This is against the very nature of what we are about,” she added.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has spoken out to say his own focus is on those who perform abortions, not punish women who choose to terminate their pregnancy.

Mr Trump said to reporters in 1999 that he was pro-choice and did not want to ban abortion, even if the thought of an abortion made him "cringe".