Vice President Kamala Harris redefined the abortion debate on Monday, putting the responsibility for state bans squarely on Donald Trump. Responding to the harsh, six-week ban that took effect in Iowa on Monday, she called it what it is: a “Trump abortion ban.”
“Today Iowa put in place a Trump abortion ban, which makes Iowa the 22nd state in our country to have a Trump abortion ban, and this ban is going to take effect before many women even know they're pregnant,” she said in a video released by her campaign. “What this means is that 1 in 3 women of reproductive age in America lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban.”
That’s three times she said the word “abortion” and three times she made Trump own these extreme state laws.
Iowa follows Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in banning abortion after a fetal “heartbeat” can be detected, at about six weeks of gestation. What’s actually being heard, medical experts say, is electrical pulses as the system that will eventually become a heart forms. There’s no science behind these bans, just the policy of punishing women.
Beyond Harris, Democrats were quick to respond. Here’s Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, welcoming Iowans to come to his state for care.
The Iowa ban will dramatically increase demand for abortion in neighboring states. When Missouri’s ban was enacted, patients from the midwest states started traveling to Iowa, Sarah Traxler, an ob-gyn based in Minnesota and the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States told Minnesota Public Radio. “This is going to have resounding impacts on the region itself, especially the Midwest and the South.”
It also could have a profound impact on the race for the White House. A solid 61% of registered voters in Civiqs’ daily tracker support legal abortion in all or most cases.
“What we need to do is vote,” Harris said Monday. “I'm going to tell you something, when I am president of the United States, I will sign into law the protections for reproductive freedom. So let's get this done.”
Damn right, let’s get this done! Help Kamala Harris restore our fundamental rights with your donation.
