Fact: About 30% of American women get an abortion by the time they turn 45.

Fact: Donald Trump is the front-runner to get the Republican nomination for president.

Fact: Abortion is is a serious issue to many American voters.

So it matters, a lot, what Trump's views on abortion and abortion policy are.

1. "You have to ban it."

2. If and when you do ban abortion, "there has to be some form of punishment" for women who get illegal abortions.

These two simple statements infuriated both conservatives and liberals.

Let's take a step back from all of the controversy and fury and examine what is really going on here:

What did Trump actually say about abortion, in context?

Trump has often complained about being the target of the media. Sometimes an out-of-context clip of him gets blown up to an insane proportion, and attracts both adoration and disdain.

So let's watch and listen to what he said, in an interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews:

Trump mentioned that while he was originally pro-choice, his stance has since changed.

His authenticity as a pro-lifer has frequently been questioned during the entity of this election, including in an ad for Ted Cruz's campaign.

The ad @realDonaldTrump​ wants me to pull. We’re running it more frequently because you deserve to know the truth.https://t.co/pEaLCsbr1X — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 17, 2016

BTW, here is the full context to those remarks:

Trump may have thought his comments this week on banning abortion would help to solidify his stance as a pro-life conservative, but his comments have sparked outrage on both sides.

What does the pro-life movement think?

If you're pro-choice, you might think pro-lifers would agree with Trump that if abortion is banned, women who get illegal abortions should get some kind of punishment. But they definitely do not.

Actually, many pro-life activists are cringing. They worry that Donald Trump will fuel a "caricature" about their movement because of his seeming lack of knowledge and uncomfortable nature about the topic.

March for Life, a pro-life advocacy group, said this:

March for Life on Trump abortion comments: "No pro-lifer would ever want to punish a woman who has chosen abortion." pic.twitter.com/iTXMMGPsaN — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 30, 2016

That being said, there are still some people who side with him, or at least understand his logic. After all, usually if you get or even try to get something that's legally banned, there are criminal consequences.

100% disagree with Trump re abortion but if something's made illegal there has to be punishment for doing it or how else do you enforce law? — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 30, 2016

Trump abortion. The hypothetical question was answered correctly. If a person is involved in an illegal activity, she must be punished — Joanne L Ellis (@LJodufellis) March 31, 2016

Abortions used to be illegal--were women punished then?

Criminally? No.

Since well before 1900, criminal penalties for abortion in the United States have generally been pursued against abortionists, not women. — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 30, 2016

Before that, when it was illegal, there were restrictive laws--but not ones that criminally prosecuted women who would get abortions.

But restrictive laws can be even as damaging--as "punishing"--as prosecution laws.

Planned Parenthood Executive Vice President Dawn Laguens believes Trump's statement is an extension of other anti-abortion laws passed by the GOP that make it harder for women to get abortions.

Planned Parenthood: Donald Trump's abortion comments reflect the entire GOP https://t.co/UaSte6EE97 via @JuliaManch https://t.co/hM6VqcFb32 — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 31, 2016

One example is Governor John Kasich's reproductive rights reforms in Ohio: Since entering office in 2011, he has enacted 16 anti-abortion measures. Including restricting services and cutting funding.

Well, who all is mad it Trump over this?

Almost everyone.

All 4 of the other presidential hopefuls have gone after him, both Republicans and Democrats.

.@JohnKasich reacts to Trump's abortion comments: "Of course, women shouldn't be punished" for having an abortion https://t.co/bLyaNPVGoE — MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 30, 2016

Many Democrats and pro-choice advocates feel like Trump's statements were just a peek behind the curtain revealing the true opinions of the Republican party.

The fact is, Trump isn't that different from every other Republican candidate who would also outlaw abortion. — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 30, 2016

Every politician who wants to criminalize abortion supports some form of punishment for women - Trump is just the 1st to admit it. — John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) March 30, 2016

DNC on Trump/abortion: "the other two Republican candidates aren't much different when it comes to actual policy." — Oliver Willis (@owillis) March 30, 2016

trump is just accidentally being more honest about what the gop endgame on abortion looks like. — Oliver Willis (@owillis) March 30, 2016

These comments are also being added to a larger, long existing, narrative that Trump is anti-woman.

This video compiles some of the insults that Trump has made about women:

General public opinion tends to see Trump in this negative light.

Breaking: Trump will make it illegal for women NOT to have breast implants. Defiers will face prison time commensurate to natural cup size. — Meghan Daum (@meghan_daum) March 31, 2016

.@melrobbins: Many conservatives supporting Trump "are 100% out of touch with the way women expect to be spoken to" https://t.co/pcptdKRohL — New Day (@NewDay) March 31, 2016

Trump wants to punish women for having abortions. He should run for president of Saudi Arabia. — Albert Brooks (@AlbertBrooks) March 30, 2016

It's starting to be seen as an electability issue for Trump. Right now relatively few women say they could vote for him.

How Trump is flip-flopping and backpedaling

Trump has since tried to take his statements back. By comparing himself to Ronald Reagan, the hero of the Republican party.

When he was governor of California, Reagan was relatively lenient on abortion but became more conservative about the issue as president:

"By the way, you know who else evolved? Ronald Reagan evolved. Because Ronald Reagan signed one of the toughest abortion laws in favor of abortion in California that had been signed in many, many years. ... He wasn't very conservative, but he was a pretty conservative president."

He also released this press statement:

Trump says women wouldn’t be held legally responsible for getting abortion if it were banned https://t.co/XI8ogv1Ft4 pic.twitter.com/wyFCgw9Mqi — ABC News (@ABC) March 30, 2016

And his campaign has been making efforts to make amends, including having a spokeswoman for his campaign make the rounds and explain that Trump "misspoke."

A complete misspeak. This was a misspeak. There was a misspeak here. Because it was a misspeak. Obviously a misspeak https://t.co/gnRyKH89hK — Nolan D. McCaskill (@NolanDMcCaskill) March 31, 2016

Trump spokeswoman calls abortion comments "a complete misspeak" | WATCH: https://t.co/QnYzxaVD5L pic.twitter.com/hcN4EPXLkF — The Hill (@thehill) March 31, 2016

Both Ben Carson and Governor Chris Christie have also come out to defend Trump. Carson said:

"Well, bear in mind, I don't believe that he was warned that that question was coming, and I don't think he really had a chance to really think about it."

But here's what many people on both sides are thinking: Donald Trump is running for president of the United States, so he should probably have a coherent policy about an issue as important as abortion.

Do the explanations that Trump "misspoke" and has "evolved" on abortion convince you? Or is this uproar just another example of how Trump, in the view of many on both left AND the right, isn't nearly disciplined or prepared enough to be president?

This article was written by Allison Hollender and originally appeared on Kicker. Kicker explains the most important, compelling things going on in the world and empowers you to get in the know, make up your own mind, and take action. For more, check out the Kicker site, like their Facebook page, or subscribe to their email newsletter.