U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Trump Faces New Scrutiny Over Abortion

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The U.S. Republican presidential front-runner, billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump, faced new scrutiny Thursday after his call for "some form of punishment" for women who secure abortions if the procedure is ever prohibited in the country, even though within hours he backtracked on that comment.

In an intense interview on CNN about Trump's remark, his spokeswoman, Katrina Pierson, said, "This was a complete misspeak." Pierson said Trump, who once supported a woman's right to the medical procedure, now is "pro-life with exceptions" and would favor punishing doctors who perform abortions, not women, if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns its 43-year-old ruling supporting abortion rights in the U.S.

Both of Trump's two remaining challengers for the Republican presidential nomination, Ohio Governor John Kasich and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, also oppose abortion rights. But Kasich said Trump's original abortion statement, and "casual comments" he has made about the possible U.S. use of nuclear weapons, "just show he's really not prepared to be president of the United States."

Cruz accused Trump of saying "anything just to get attention."

Trump also rankled the GOP establishment this week by reversing his pledge to support the party's nominee. 

But the party elite met with the controversial frontrunner in Washington Thursday. His surprise visit to the Republican National Committee came after months of tension between Trump and the party he seeks to represent in the November 8 election.

Trump tweeted that he had a "very nice" meeting with RNC head Reince Priebus during his nearly hour-long visit. But he offered no other details.