WASHINGTON — Donald Trump now says abortion laws should not be changed.

It’s a pendulum swing for the Republican presidential contender on an issue that’s caused him grief since he said earlier in the week there should be “some form of punishment” for women who get abortions if the procedure is outlawed.

He backed off that remark under fierce criticism, saying if abortion were no longer legal, abortionists should be penalized for performing the procedure — not the women who have it.

Now he’s shifted anew, in a “Face The Nation” interview being broadcast Sunday.

In an excerpt broadcast Friday on “CBS Evening News,” Trump said about abortion: “The laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way.”

He declined several times to say whether he thinks abortion is murder. “I have my opinions on it, but I’d rather not comment on it,” he said. Asked if he disagrees with those who consider the procedure to be murder, he said, “No, I don’t disagree with it.”

His spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said Trump meant that abortion laws won’t change until he’s president. “Then he will change the law through his judicial appointments and allow the states to protect the unborn,” she said.