Trump Doubles Down on National Abortion Ban

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting the work that President Biden and Vice President Harris are doing every day to fight for women across America — from protecting reproductive freedom to securing economic equity and opportunity. At the same time, MAGA Republicans up and down the ballot are trying to turn back the clock and undermine women’s rights.

DNC Director of Outreach Communications Tracy King released the following statement:

“President Biden and Vice President Harris are keeping their promise to fight on behalf of women across America, including defending reproductive freedom against Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans’ all-out assault on our rights. Meanwhile, Trump and MAGA Republicans are kicking off Women’s History Month by doubling down on a national abortion ban, refusing to support nationwide protections for IVF treatment, and pushing an extreme agenda to rip away reproductive rights. Because of Donald Trump, women and families across the country are living in a waking nightmare as extreme Republicans interfere in their most personal health care decisions. Trump says he is ‘proud’ to be the reason that millions of women have lost their reproductive freedoms — and he’ll pay for it at the ballot box in November.”

President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting for reproductive freedom, while Trump brags about ripping away reproductive rights.

Los Angeles Times: “At Thursday’s event, Biden doubled down on his promise to veto any national abortion ban proposed by Congress and said if he is reelected — and Democrats gain congressional control in November — his administration can undo the far-reaching rollbacks of reproductive rights.”

“‘I promise you we will fully restore Roe v. Wade,’ Biden said to applause.”

Reuters: “U.S. President Joe Biden said the Supreme Court decision overturning the right to an abortion was an exercise in ‘raw political power’ and signed an executive order on Friday to ease access to services to terminate pregnancies.

The order directs the government's health department to expand access to ‘medication abortion’ - pills prescribed to end pregnancies - and ensure women have access to emergency medical care, family planning services and contraception. It also mentions protecting doctors, women who travel for abortions and mobile abortion clinics at state borders.”

CNN: “The executive order attempts to safeguard access to medication abortion and emergency contraception, protect patient privacy, launch public education efforts as well as bolster the security of and the legal options available to those seeking and providing abortion services.”

President Biden has issued several executive orders to strengthen access to birth control after Trump’s administration gutted contraception protections.

Fortune: “President Biden’s new executive order could help American women get better birth control”

CNBC: “President Joe Biden on Friday will sign a wide-ranging executive order aimed at protecting and increasing access to contraception, his administration’s latest attempt to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states.” 

The Hill: “The order directs the secretaries of the Treasury and Labor Departments, as well as Health and Human Services (HHS), to consider new actions and guidance related to birth control, such as ensuring private health insurance covers all contraceptives either approved, cleared or granted by the Food and Drug Administration.” 

“In all 50 states, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) guarantees coverage of women’s preventive services, including free birth control and contraceptive counseling.”

In light of the devastating Alabama Supreme Court ruling on IVF – only made possible by Trump – President Biden is standing up for Americans’ access to fertility treatments.

The Guardian: “Biden calls 'disregard' for reproductive rights in conservative push 'outrageous'”

“Joe Biden has issued a statement sharply criticizing the Alabama state supreme court’s decision declaring embryos kept for IVF as ‘children,’ and saying that this and other restrictions from the right on reproductive choice are “a direct result of the overturning of Roe v Wade.”

Associated Press: “President Joe Biden and his allies have been quick to seize on last week’s ruling — which says that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law and threatens the future of fertility care in the state — as evidence that Republicans have gone too far with restricting reproductive care.”

If Donald Trump’s hand-picked Supreme Court appointees hadn’t overturned Roe, IVF treatments would still be available to families who have lost access to needed medical care.

New York Magazine: “The Alabama Supreme Court’s shocking decision recognizing fetal personhood and threatening IVF treatments would have been impossible if Donald Trump hadn’t reshaped the U.S. Supreme Court with the explicit goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. It was a 2016 campaign promise he made and kept, and all the nightmares that pregnant women and their families have experienced since the Supreme Court ended the federal right to an abortion in 2022 are very much his doing.”

New Republic: “Trump’s Panicky Eruption Over Embryo Ruling Won’t Fix GOP’s IVF Mess” 

NBC News: “Doctors and patients fearfully proceed with IVF after Alabama court rules embryos are children”

Let’s not forget that Trump hand-picked Supreme Court justices to kill Roe v. Wade, opening the door for extreme abortion bans across the country.

Washington Post: “Trump promised judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade” 

NPR: “He said Roe would be overturned if he got to change the balance on the court:

‘If we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that will happen. And that will happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court.’”

The Hill: “Trump suggests Supreme Court nominee would tip panel against Roe v. Wade”

Vanity Fair: “Donald Trump Can’t Run Away From Roe”

Trump: “For 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I’m proud to have done it. … Nobody else was going to get that done but me, and we did it, and we did something that was a miracle.”

Trump: “After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the ‘shock’ of everyone … Without me there would be no 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to. Without me the pro Life movement would have just kept losing. Thank you President TRUMP!!!”

Rolling Stone: “Trump Claims Credit for All Abortion Bans”

Donald Trump claims to stand on the “side of women,” but is calling for a national abortion ban that women have repeatedly and overwhelmingly rejected.

Rolling Stone: “Trump Wants to Ban Abortion Nationwide: Report”

Trump: “There has to be some form of punishment [for women who have abortions].”

Rolling Stone: “Trump Floats National Abortion Ban After Claiming He's ‘On the Side of Women’”

Trump: “There of course remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life. And it’s very important.”

Trump on if he would sign a six-week national abortion ban: “I'm looking at all [options].”

Trump significantly weakened the Affordable Care Act, ripping away birth control access from women across the country —  and has already doubled down on his plans to rip away access if he retakes power.

New York Times: “Trump Administration Rolls Back Birth Control Mandate”

Vox: “In Trump’s first year in office, federal agencies weakened the ACA’s contraceptive mandate, allowing employers to deny birth control coverage if they had a religious or moral objection. Though the rollback was quickly tied up in the courts, dozens of employers signed separate settlements with the administration allowing them to refuse to cover birth control.”

“Meanwhile, the Trump administration took aim at other federal programs designed to promote reproductive health and access to birth control, including Title X, which funds services like contraceptive counseling and cervical cancer screenings for low-income Americans. The result was that when Covid-19 hit, the country’s safety net was already weakened, with shuttered clinics and reduced hours making it harder to provide the low-cost care that Americans — many of them facing layoffs and loss of health insurance — needed more than ever.”

“Then, in the midst of the pandemic, the Supreme Court dealt another blow to birth control access: The justices upheld the administration’s rollback of the ACA contraceptive mandate in July, a ruling that could mean the loss of contraceptive coverage for 126,000 American workers.”

Rolling Stone: “Inside the MAGA Plan to Attack Birth Control, Surveil Women and Ban the Abortion Pill”

Associated Press: “Trump remaking federal policy on women’s reproductive health”

“Step by methodical step, the Trump administration is remaking government policy on reproductive health — moving to limit access to birth control and abortion and bolstering abstinence-only sex education.”