Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump for abortion restrictions during a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday. Arizona became a focal point in the U.S. abortion debate this week following the state Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a law from 1864 that nearly bans all abortions.
“This is Donald Trumps doing,” stated Ms. Harris. Her comments echoed recent critiques from the Biden campaign linking Mr. Trump to abortion bans across the country. During his 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump pledged to nominate justices committed to overturning Roe v. Wade. By June 2022, he had appointed three conservative justices to the court, all of whom voted to overturn Roe, thereby rescinding the nationwide right to abortion.
According to the pro-choice research group, the Guttmacher Institute, an estimated 18 million women of reproductive age now lack access to abortion in their state of residence. “We all should recognize who bears the responsibility,” Ms. Harris emphasized on Friday. “Donald Trump is the mastermind behind this healthcare dilemma.”
She warned that “a second Trump term would exacerbate the situation… he would endorse a nationwide abortion ban.” A spokesperson for the Trump campaign refuted support for a national ban, asserting that Trump “couldn’t have been clearer. These decisions are for the people of each state to decide.”
Arizona’s 160-year-old law has provided Vice President Harris and her fellow Democrats with another opportunity to center their 2024 election efforts on abortion, a strategy that has proven effective in local and state races.
Abortion access remains widely supported among the American public. Mr. Trump has attempted to distance himself from Arizona’s ban, urging state politicians to repeal the law. Addressing reporters from his West Palm Beach residence on Friday afternoon, Mr. Trump asserted that the 1864 law “will undergo revisions by the government.”
However, he also claimed credit for “shattering” Roe v. Wade”We accomplished something that many thought was impossible; we restored decision-making authority to the states, and they are managing it exceedingly well,”he remarked. “It’s operating as intended,” he added.
Kari Lake, the expected Republican candidate for an open Arizona Senate seat and a close ally of Mr. Trump, has also publicly denounced the law, labeling the ban as “inconsistent” with the views of state voters. Ms. Lake had previously praised the ban as a “commendable law.”
The enforcement timeline and method of the 1864 ban remain uncertain. The Arizona Supreme Court suspended the ruling for at least 14 days while a lower court reviewed additional arguments about the law’s constitutionality.