Extreme abortion ban sparks outrage, puts Trump in danger

Donald Trump and his right-wing supporters in the Republican Party have encouraged and exploited the anti-abortion movement for political advantage.

However, this strategy came back to bite them. Now the battleground state of Arizona has passed anti-abortion rules so draconian that even those in the Make America Great Again movement are scrambling to disown them.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday approved a law In 1864, abortion was effectively banned in every U.S. state.

That means doctors and others who perform abortions face two to five years in prison unless the life of the mother is in danger, including rape or incest.

Democrats hoping to capitalize on moderate and female voters’ dissatisfaction with tough abortion restrictions in the 2024 election have launched an onslaught, accusing the former president and his party of undermining abortion rights.

Trump reshaped the U.S. Supreme Court during his presidency, moving the court to the far right and paving the way for its growth. 2022 Dobbs Decisionwhich overturned Roe v. Wade 1973 Protect women’s right to terminate pregnancy. This has led to the enforcement of state laws such as Arizona.

“Girls and young women today don’t have the rights we once had because of Donald Trump,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, a Democrat. “Donald Trump is dangerous and reckless.”

Arizona Republicans, feeling the severe political backlash, are now also eager to denounce the restrictions.

“This decision cannot stand,” said Republican state Rep. Matt Grace. “I categorically refuse to turn back the clock to a time when slavery was still legal and we could jail women and doctors for abortion.”

Even Kari Lake, a staunch Trump ally, 2020 election results denier and abortion opponent who is running for Arizona Senate, said a blanket abortion ban is “incompatible with Arizonans.”

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Lake, who has a fraught relationship with facts and new considerations about women’s reproductive rights, no doubt wants Arizona voters to forget about her Praised before The 160-year-old legislation was enacted 54 years before women had the right to vote.

Trump hopes to maintain support among anti-abortion conservatives and the Christian right in an election year. But aware of the political dangers of ostracizing moderates in key battleground states like Arizona, he has been hedging his bets on abortion.

While the Republican president has hopefully declined to back a nationwide ban after months of mixed messaging and speculation, critics said he was condemned by his words just a day before the Arizona ruling, when he Claim: “No matter what they do [individual states] The decision must be determined by local law; or in this case state law,” adding the ridiculous lie that anti-abortion Democrats want “Execute babies “Even after birth”.

On Wednesday, he tried to distance himself from that stance, telling a reporter in Atlanta, He won’t sign a national abortion ban If Congress gets it to his desk.

But his critics have taken aim at him. “So Donald Trump supports a five-year prison sentence for anyone in Arizona who participates in any way in abortion,” said MSNBC’s leading liberal commentator Lawrence O’Donnell.

“Abortion will be a losing issue for Republicans because they can’t get their message across directly,” said Patricia Kraus, a political scientist at the University of New Haven. There’s confusion about the true ‘meaning’ of his remarks. But the Arizona decision is very clear, and that creates problems for Republicans.”

Arizona Democratic Attorney General Chris Meyers said the ruling was a “stain” on the state and that she would refuse to prosecute anyone under the 1864 law.

“As long as I am attorney general, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this state’s tough law,” she said.

Democrats hope anger over extreme abortion bans will help them win in this key battleground state. Heading into the 2022 midterm elections, 61% of Arizona voters say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, according to a broad poll of voters conducted by Associated Press VoteCast. Only 6% said it should be illegal in all circumstances.

last week, florida supreme court A decision with similar implications was made, allowing the state to ban most abortions starting after six weeks of pregnancy. Democrats hope this means the state is once again up for grabs after years of Republican control.

“It is also clear that voters do not favor a national abortion ban,” Krause said. “In the past, Democrats have tried to defend their pro-life stance in elections.

“Now Republicans have to defend their positions, and in some parts of the country that will cost them the election. We always say elections are about the economy, but abortion is also going to be a focus this year.”

In the coming months, the Washington Supreme Court will due to rules On the legality of medical abortion.

After a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restricted the use of the abortion drug mifepristone, the Biden administration asked the judges to hear a challenge to the drug’s availability.