A top Trump official has compared people who support abortion to those who argued in favour of keeping slavery in the US, according to local media.

Betsy DeVos, the US education secretary, reportedly told a Christian university that opponents to the anti-abortion and anti-slavery movements both ignored the “moral” side to the debate.

She said Abraham Lincoln — the US president who fought to end to slavery — “too contented with the pro-choice arguments of his day”, according to the Colorado Times Recorder.

“They suggested that a state’s choice to be a slave or to be free had no moral question in it,” she reportedly told Colorado Christian University. “President Lincoln reminded those pro-choicers that is a vast portion of the American people that do not look upon that matter as being this very little thing.

“They look upon it as a vast moral evil.”

Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Show all 11 1 /11 Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Pro-choice campaigners stood outside the Stormont Estate on Monday 21 October with the word "decriminalised" spelt out in front of them as some of Stormont’s assembly members returned to the chamber for the first time in nearly three years. A group of Northern Irish lawmakers returned to parliament in a failed last-minute protest at the decriminalisation of abortion in the region. AFP via Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Attendees at a pro-choice press conference embraced one another ahead of the meeting of the Stormont Assembly on abortion rights and same-sex marriage in Belfast. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland A member of pro-choice group Alliance for Choice smiled as she and others marched in support of abortion rights in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following a pro-choice press conference. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Members of pro-choice groups Alliance for Choice and Pro Life held demonstrations outside Stormont on Monday 21 October as a last-minute attempt to stop the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland was made by the Democratic Unionist party. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland A rally was held in Dublin City centre on Monday 21 October in celebration of the eminent decriminalisation of abortion and same-sex marriage. PA Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Equal marriage campaigners Martha Brown and Louise McCullough celebrated at Maverick Bar in Belfast as same-sex marriage and abortion were legalised in Northern Ireland. PA Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Members of pro-choice group Alliance for Choice made their way to Stormont carrying abortion rights signs. Getty Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Kellie Turtle and Emma Campbell embraced as members of pro-choice group Alliance for Choice held a press conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Activist Ashleigh Topley wiped away her tears during the Alliance for Choice press conference on Monday 21 October. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Members of Alliance for Group embraced one another after their pro-choice press conference. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Abortion rights campaigners marched through the streets of Belfast ahead of the meeting of the Stormont Assembly on abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Getty

The Trump administration has repeatedly pushed to curb abortion rights in the US, ordering tax-payer funded family planning clinics to stop referring women for abortions earlier this week and promoting anti-abortion figures to important roles, including on the Supreme Court.

Ms DeVos, who is known for her religious conservatism, reportedly told the Christian university: “There are many in the pro-life movement who heroically work to make abortion unconstitutional.

“Tonight, let’s talk about making it unthinkable.”

The education secretary tweeted after the event: “We had a robust discussion about this administration’s commitment to safeguarding the religious liberty and First Amendment rights of all students.”

Ms DeVos has a history of opposing LGBT+ and abortion rights, and once told an interviewer that she wanted to “help advance God’s kingdom” through US schooling.

Mike Pence, the religious US vice-president, has also defended his administration’s anti-abortion stance in the past during a speech to a Christian university, saying they stood “without apology for the sanctity of human life”.

Organisers of anti-abortion rally, March for Life, recently announced that Mr Trump is set to become the first ever US president to attend.

Over the past few years, US states have been proposing stricter abortion laws, with Tennessee’s governor announcing this week that he plans to ban women from aborting foetuses once a heartbeat can be detected.

Similar legislation has been passed in other states, such as Mississippi and Georgia, only to be struck down in courts.

However, Americans have been warned that an increasingly conservative Supreme Court could threaten women’s constitutional right to abortion.

Research has shown that most US citizens believe abortion should be legal.