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Post by Webster on Apr 2, 2024 16:25:06 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Biden campaign says Trump 'directly to blame' for Florida abortion rulingJoe Biden’s campaign team said Donald Trump is “directly to blame” for the ruling upholding an abortion ban in Florida, given that the former president nominated three of the supreme court justices who helped overturn Roe v Wade in 2022. “Because of Donald Trump, Maga [’Make America Great Again’] Republicans across this country are ripping away access to reproductive health care and inserting themselves into the most personal decisions women can make, from contraception to IVF,” Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden’s campaign manager, told reporters on a press call. “And make no mistake: Donald Trump will do everything in his power to try and enact a national abortion ban if he’s reelected.” Earlier today, the Biden campaign released a new ad, titled “Trust”, that highlights Trump’s past comments bragging about the reversal of Roe and also warns of the possibility of a federal ban. The ad will air across battleground states as part of the Biden campaign’s broader media blitz this spring. “These are the stakes in November, and we’re going to continue to make sure that every single voter knows them,” Rodríguez said. “Here’s the bottom line: Trump and Maga Republicans are working to ban abortion nationwide, while President Biden and Vice-President Harris will never stop fighting to protect reproductive freedom.”
Floridians will have an opportunity to weigh in on the question of abortion access this November, when they vote on an initiative that would enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution. Speaking on the Biden campaign press call, Fentrice Driskell, the Democratic leader of the Florida house, argued that the state supreme court’s decision to uphold an abortion ban underscored the urgency of the November elections. “We are seeing what Trump’s agenda looks like here in Florida: extremist politicians inserting themselves into women’s healthcare, threatening doctors with prison time and endangering women’s health and lives,” Driskell said. “The only thing that can stop governmental interference into our lives and exam rooms is to stay in the fight and by exercising our right to vote. This November, Florida will draw a line in the sand and say enough.” Democrats hope that the presence of the abortion initiative on the ballot might tip the scales in their party’s favor in Florida, but they acknowledge that the task will be difficult, given Republicans’ recent dominance in the purple state. Trump carried the state by 3 points in 2020, increasing his advantage from 2016 even as he lost the national election to Biden. “We’re clear-eyed about how hard it will be to win Florida, but we also know that Trump does not have it in the bag,” said Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden’s campaign manager. “We definitely see Florida in play.”
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Post by Webster on Apr 8, 2024 12:21:20 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump says states and 'will of the people' should determine abortion rightsFormer president Donald Trump said that abortion rights should be determined by states and the “will of the people”, dodging calls for a national abortion ban. On Monday, Trump, the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, posted a video clarifying his position to his social media platform Truth Social. “My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” Trump said. “At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people. You must follow your heart, or in many cases, your religion or your faith,” he added. Trump noted that he also supports the availability of fertility treatments. His latest remarks comes after the Alabama supreme court ruled that frozen embryos are “children”, a win for the anti-abortion movement that forced many Republicans to explain their position on the popular procedure.
Trump’s stance on abortion comes after he previously suggested that he would support a 15-week ban with exceptions for rape, incest, or if the mother’s life was in danger. In Monday’s video, Trump said he was “strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.” He did not say at what number of weeks into pregnancy he would support a ban. Trump previously criticized near-total abortion bans passed in several Republican-led states as “terrible”. His latest comments come as several GOP candidates struggle with the issue, particularly in competitive states.
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Post by Webster on Apr 8, 2024 12:45:04 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Anti-abortion groups 'deeply disappointed' by Trump's position Anti-abortion groups have slammed Trump’s stance on abortion, signaling the stark divide on the issue in GOP circles. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America, said she was “deeply disappointed” in Trump’s position, in a statement to X. -- We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position. Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry… Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to Democrats who are working relentless to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy….Meanwhile, prominent Democrats have warned that Trump will pass a national abortion ban into law if elected president. In a statement to X, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia said that Trump was “singularly responsible” for the end of federal abortion protections: An old saying goes: “watch what they do, not what they say.” Donald Trump is singularly responsible for the overturning of Roe & ripping away women’s freedoms—& he “proudly” takes credit for it. He’d sign a national abortion ban into law—no matter how much he tries to deny it.
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Post by Webster on Apr 8, 2024 12:45:57 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump’s comments on abortion come as Florida’s six week abortion ban is set to take effect in May. The near-total ban will take place starting 1 May, but could be overturned by voters in November. Trump previously denounced near-total abortion bans in several GOP-led states. Read more on Florida’s abortion ban from the Guardian’s Carter Sherman: Florida, the last bastion of abortion access in the south-eastern United States, will ban abortion past six weeks of pregnancy starting next month, leaving abortion providers and their supporters in the state and across the country scrambling to deal with the fallout for patients.
On Monday, the Florida state supreme court upheld a 15-week abortion ban, a move that removed the barriers for a separate, six-week ban that takes effect on 1 May. In a separate ruling, the court also agreed to let Florida residents weigh in on the issue through a November ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution – a decision that opens a new front in an election that is already sure to be dominated by abortion politics.
“We’re all holding out hope for November, but realizing that from May to November, we’re going to be turning patients away at unprecedented rates,” said Dr Chelsea Daniels, a family medicine physician and abortion provider in Miami, Florida. “It feels like a punch to the gut.”…
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Post by Webster on Apr 8, 2024 13:06:34 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Biden warns Trump will sign national abortion ban if electedJoe Biden cautioned that Trump will sign a national abortion ban if elected, following Trump’s latest remarks on his abortion stance. In a Monday statement, Biden said that Trump is “responsible for creating the cruelty and the chaos that has enveloped America since the Dobbs decision”. Biden said: Trump once said women must be punished for seeking reproductive health care – and he’s gotten his wish. Women are being turned away from emergency rooms, forced to go to court to seek permission for the medical attention they need, and left to travel hundreds of miles for health care…
With all his empty words on fertility treatments, Trump doesn’t tell you the Maga Republicans he controls in Congress have put forward bills that could ban fertility treatments and that the Speaker of the House he empowered is one of the strongest supporters for a national abortion ban in the nation.
Let there be no illusion. If Donald Trump is elected and the MAGA Republicans in Congress put a national abortion ban on the Resolute Desk, Trump will sign it into law.Biden added that he is “determined” to restore federal abortion protections if him and Kamala Harris get a “Democratic Congress”.
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Post by Webster on Apr 8, 2024 13:08:12 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Here is more of Biden’s statement on Trump’s abortion position. The statement is among Biden’s longer ones as Democrats work to establish that Republicans will further destroy abortion access. -- Here’s what Donald Trump doesn’t understand: When he ripped away Roe v. Wade, he ripped away a fundamental right for the women of America that the United States Supreme Court had affirmed and reaffirmed for 50 years.
As a fundamental right, it didn’t matter where you lived. It was granted to you as an American, not as a resident of any state. Generations of women had come to rely on that right. Now we’re in the extraordinary position where women today have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers.
That has never happened before in America. And it cannot be allowed to stand. I am determined to restore the federal protections of Roe v. Wade. So it won’t matter where you live in America: The fundamental right to choose for women will once again be the law of the land. If you give me and Vice President Harris a Democratic Congress, that is exactly what we will do.
Trump is simply lying. There was no groundswell of support in America for overturning Roe. In fact, support for Roe is higher today in America than it has ever been. The real truth is Trump made a political deal in 2016. He promised to appoint a Court that would get rid of Roe. And he had to make good on that debt. So he did. It was never about public policy or what was right or what Trump believed. It was always about politics.
Trump admits as much in his statement today. Having created the chaos of overturning Roe, he’s trying to say, ‘Oh, never mind. Don’t punish me for that. I just want to win.’
Trump is scrambling. He’s worried that since he’s the one responsible for overturning Roe the voters will hold him accountable in 2024. Well, I have news for Donald. They will. America was built on personal freedom and liberty. So, there is nothing more un-American than having our personal freedoms taken away. And that is what Donald Trump has done. As I have said many times since the Dobbs decision, Donald Trump and all those responsible for overturning Roe don’t have a clue about the power of women in America. But they are about to find out.
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Post by Webster on Apr 8, 2024 13:31:54 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Graham 'respectfully disagrees' on Trump's abortion stanceSenator Lindsey Graham criticized Trump’s position on abortion and vows to continue advocating for a 15-week abortion ban. In a statement Monday, Graham said he “respectfully [disagrees]” on Trump’s stance that abortion is an issue of states’ rights. “I will continue to advocate that there should be a national minimum standard limiting abortion at fifteen weeks because the child is capable of feeling pain, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” Graham added. Graham said earlier this year that he would introduce legislation for a 15-week ban, but may not pursue the policy in Congress at this time, the Hill reported. Graham’s split with Trump comes as Republicans are contending with how to handle abortion ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2024 16:55:40 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Republicans rush to distance themselves from 1864 abortion banThe Arizona supreme court’s decision on Tuesday to let a 160-year-old abortion ban in the state go into effect pushed Republicans into a new political dilemma, coming as it did just a day after Donald Trump declared that abortion should be left to individual states. First passed when Arizona was still a territory, the ban only permits abortions to save a patient’s life and does not have exceptions for rape or incest. “This decision cannot stand,” said Matt Gress, a Republican state representative. -- I categorically reject rolling back the clock to a time when slavery was still legal and we could lock up women and doctors because of an abortion.“I oppose today’s ruling,” said Kari Lake, a Republican running to represent Arizona in the Senate and a Trump loyalist. Lake called on the state legislature to “come up with an immediate commonsense solution that Arizonans can support”. David Schweikert, the most vulnerable Republican in the state, also denounced the ruling and said the issue “should be decided by Arizonans, not legislated from the bench”. Republicans have struggled to find a way to talk about abortion since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, leading the GOP to stumble in the 2022 midterms and abortion rights supporters to win a string of ballot measures. Their latest response to the Arizona ruling may mark their fastest and strongest rebuke of abortion bans since Roe fell. Some of the criticisms of Tuesday’s ruling came from politicians who had previously supported the 1864 ban or cheered the end of Roe v Wade.
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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2024 17:02:50 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The Arizona governor, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said Tuesday was a “dark day” for the state following the ruling and implored abortion rights supporters to make their voices heard in November. Hobbs said the court decision was a sign that “the fight for our reproductive freedoms is far from over”. In a statement on Tuesday, she said: I’ve personally experienced the anguish of losing a pregnancy and I know it’s outrageous to have the government tell you that the best decision for your health or future could now be considered a crime. I will not stop fighting until we have fully secured the right to reproductive healthcare in our state.The governor last year issued a sweeping executive order banning county attorneys from prosecuting women who seek abortions and doctors who perform them. Speaking to CNN hours after the court ruling, Hobbs said she was confident that voters will have the opportunity to enshrine abortion rights in November and reverse the decision. She added: This is a commonsense measure that is supported by the vast majority of Arizonans in terms of protecting access. And you know, certainly it’s going to motivate voters in November.
Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes, vowed not to prosecute any doctors or women under the 1864 ban. Speaking in a news conference after the court’s decision was published, Mayes said: No woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law … as long as I am attorney general. Not by me, nor by any county attorney serving in our state. Not on my watch.Her office is looking to pursue options available to ensure the law is not implemented in the state, she added. In a statement, Mayes described the state supreme court decision as “unconscionable” and an “affront to freedom”, and said the court had “risked the health and lives of Arizonans”. She continued: Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state.
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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2024 17:18:23 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2024 17:22:52 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Voters in Arizona may be able to weigh in on the issue in November: abortion rights supporters in the state have spent months gathering signatures for a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution, and the Tuesday decision raises the stakes for their efforts significantly. If it succeeds, the ballot measure would declare that people in Arizona have a “fundamental right to abortion” and that the state will not try to curb that right before a pregnancy reaches fetal viability, which is generally pegged to about 24 weeks of pregnancy. Although ballot measures need to amass 383,923 signatures by July to get on the ballot, the organizers behind the Arizona measure announced last week that they have gathered more than 500,000 signatures, and plan to collect more.
While the long-term impact of the decision on abortion access in Arizona is not yet clear, a number of providers said on Tuesday that they will stay open as long as they can. Planned Parenthood Arizona, which operates multiple locations in the state, intends to continue providing abortions as long as the procedure is legal. Thanks to a court order in a separate case, Planned Parenthood appears to be able to legally provide abortions beyond the 14-day window and potentially as late as into May. “Regardless of today’s decision, what I can tell you is that our doors will remain open,” Angela Florez, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona, told reporters on a call after the supreme court decision. - We will continue to provide what essential healthcare we can within the limitations of the law, and we hope that supporters will continue to support and that patients will still continue to feel safe in our care.Dr Gabrielle Goodrick, a longtime abortion provider in Phoenix, also told the Guardian that her clinic will continue offering abortions, at least through the 14-day window. Goodrick said. - We are not closing. Ever. That’s not a question. I have reassurances from the governor and the attorney general that they’re not going to prosecute, but I need to investigate that further.
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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2024 17:27:06 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The Arizona state supreme court decision came a day after Donald Trump declined to endorse a national ban on abortion, saying that it should be left up to individual states. Trump’s stated position on Monday dashed hopes of anti-abortion groups, which want a federal ban, and drew the ire of Democrats, who blame Trump for outright bans and severe restrictions already in place across the south and midwest. In a four-minute video post on Truth Social, Trump said it was “up to the states to do the right thing” while also touting his work to confirm the conservative supreme court justices who ultimately overturned Roe v Wade in 2022. “States will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both,” Trump said. -- Whatever they decide must be the law of the land, or in this case the law of the state.“Many states will be different, many will have a different number of weeks, some will be more conservative than others,” he continued. -- At the end of the day this is all about the will of the people. You must follow your heart, or in many cases your religion or faith.He added: Do what’s right for your family, and do what’s right for yourself.
For more than a year, Donald Trump declined to say when in a pregnancy he would try to draw the line, even as Republican-led states have ushered in a wave of new restrictions and anti-abortion groups pressured him and other Republican presidential candidates to endorse a federal ban on the procedure. In his statement on Monday, Trump did not say whether he would sign into law a national abortion ban if he were president and Congress passed a federal limit. Neither did he say how he, as a resident of Florida, would vote on a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights into that state’s constitution. Democrats, who have made abortion a central issue of the election, said Trump supported laws in the more than two dozens states that have imposed outright bans or restrictions on the procedure since Roe v Wade was overturned. On the campaign trail, Trump has been ambivalent on abortion. He routinely takes credit for appointing the supreme court justices who set the stage for the elimination of Roe v Wade, which he has called a “moral and unconstitutional atrocity”. He has also called himself the “most pro-life president in American history”. But he has repeatedly dismissed as too extreme fellow Republicans who oppose exceptions to abortion restrictions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the pregnant person is at risk. And he has said being too hardline on the issue cost Republicans at the polls in the 2022 midterms and could do so again when he challenges Biden in November’s presidential election.
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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2024 17:34:34 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The Arizona supreme court decision upended Donald Trump’s gambit on abortion, a day after the former president sought to neutralize the political issue by declining to support a national abortion ban. Trump had hoped that his announcement on Monday would keep abortion rights mostly out of the conversation ahead of the November elections, but Tuesday’s ruling showed just how difficult it will be to do that, the Washington Post’s Dan Balz writes. -- All abortion politics are national, not local. Abortion developments – new laws, new restrictions, new stories of women caught up in heart-wrenching and sometimes life-threatening decisions – are no longer confined to the geography where they take place. They are instantly part of the larger debate.
Trump is correct about the dangers to Republicans of continuing the debate about abortion rights, Balz says, but the former president has abandoned those whose interests he once vowed to serve. There is no safe harbor for Trump and the Republicans at this point. The abortion issue is no less complex and no less difficult for many Americans than it was while Roe was in force. But politically the winds have shifted, and done so dramatically.
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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2024 18:08:44 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Apr 10, 2024 18:26:55 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Democrats in Florida are teaming up with operatives from Joe Biden’s re-election campaign in an all-out assault on Republicans’ extremist positions on abortion, believing it will bring victory in presidential and Senate races in November. They fired an opening salvo on Tuesday, tearing into Donald Trump’s “boasting” about overturning federal abortion protections a day earlier, and assailing the incumbent Republican senator Rick Scott for supporting Florida’s six-week ban that takes effect next month. Ron DeSantis, the Republican Florida governor and former candidate for the party’s presidential nomination who signed the ban into law, also found himself under fire. The Florida supreme court ruled last week that the six-week ban will take effect on 1 May, as well as allowing a ballot measure for November that could see voters enshrine the right to the procedure into law. The moves instantly propelled the state to the forefront of the national abortion debate, and allowed Democrats, all but wiped out in Florida in successive national elections, to seize on the issue as vote-winner.
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