[[link removed]]

TRUMP SAYS HE WOULD LET STATES PROSECUTE WOMEN FOR VIOLATING ABORTION
BAN  
[[link removed]]


 

Jake Johnson
April 30, 2024
Common Dreams
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ "There is zero doubt in my mind that Trump will choose
anti-abortion extremists and their horrifying agenda over American
families every single chance he gets," said one reproductive rights
campaigner. _

Former U.S. President Donald Trump Former U.S. President Donald Trump
appears in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money
payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 30, 2024 in New York
City. , Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images

 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview
[[link removed]]
published Tuesday that if reelected in November, he would allow states
to monitor women's pregnancies and prosecute anyone who violates an
abortion ban.

That position, said one leading reproductive rights organization,
underscores the grave threat the presumptive GOP nominee poses to
fundamental freedoms.

"There is zero doubt in my mind that Trump will choose anti-abortion
extremists and their horrifying agenda over American families every
single chance he gets, and this new interview proves that he will ban
abortion in all 50 states," Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of
Reproductive Freedom for All, said in response to the former
president's comments.

"It's imperative," she added, "that we double down on our mission to
reelect the Biden-Harris ticket and deliver congressional majorities
to lock our right to abortion care into federal law."

Speaking to _TIME_ magazine, Trump said it's "irrelevant" whether he's
"comfortable or not" with states prosecuting people for obtaining
abortion care in violation of state-level abortion bans.

"It's totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those
decisions," said Trump.

The former president also said he believes states "might" attempt to
monitor pregnancies
[[link removed]] to
determine compliance with abortion bans, but the federal government
under his leadership would not intervene to stop such a massive
invasion of privacy.

_TIME_'s Eric Cortellessa, who conducted the interview, stressed that
Trump's allies "don't plan to be passive on abortion if he returns to
power," pointing to the Heritage Foundation's support for "a
19th-century statute that would outlaw the mailing of abortion pills."

"The Republican Study Committee (RSC), which includes more than 80% of
the House GOP conference, included in its 2025 budget proposal the
Life at Conception Act, which says the right to life extends to 'the
moment of fertilization.'"

When Cortellessa asked Trump if he would veto that legislation if it
reached his desk, the former president dodged the question.

"I don't have to do anything about vetoes because we now have it back
in the states," Trump said.

"November's election will determine whether women in the United States
have reproductive freedom, or whether Trump's new government will
continue its assault to control women's healthcare decisions."

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn
_Roe v. Wade_, Republican-led states rushed to impose draconian
abortion bans, laws that have endangered lives
[[link removed]]
and forced many to travel out of state
[[link removed]]
to receive care. Nearly two dozen states
[[link removed]]
across the U.S. currently ban or restrict abortion care.

Trump, who nominated three right-wing justices to the Supreme Court,
has celebrated and taken credit for the high court's decision to end
the constitutional right to abortion.

In a video [[link removed]]
released earlier this month, Trump said he was "proudly the person
responsible" for the reversal of _Roe_ and supports letting states do
"whatever they decide" on abortion access.

"Many states will be different, many will have a different number of
weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that's what
they will be," Trump said in the video. "You must follow your
heart—or, in many cases, your religion or your faith."

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has signed executive orders
[[link removed]]
aimed at protecting abortion access, though abortion rights
campaigners say such steps are no replacement for the passage of
legislation codifying abortion protections at the federal level.

Last week, as _The Associated Press_reported
[[link removed]],
the Biden administration finalized a rule "intended to protect women
who live in states where abortion is illegal from prosecution."

"The medical records of women will be shielded from criminal
investigations if they cross state lines to seek an abortion where it
is legal," the outlet noted. "In states with strict abortion rules,
the federal regulation would essentially prohibit state or local
officials from gathering medical records related to reproductive
healthcare for a civil, criminal, or administrative investigation from
providers or health insurers in a state where abortion remains legal."

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, manager of Biden's 2024 reelection campaign,
said Tuesday that Trump's comments to TIME "leave little doubt: If
elected, he'll sign a national abortion ban, allow women who have an
abortion to be prosecuted and punished, allow the government to invade
women's privacy to monitor their pregnancies, and put IVF and
contraception in jeopardy nationwide."

"Simply put: November's election will determine whether women in the
United States have reproductive freedom, or whether Trump's new
government will continue its assault to control women's healthcare
decisions," said Rodriguez. "With the voters on their side this
November, President Biden and Vice President [Kamala] Harris will put
an end to this chaos and ensure Americans' fundamental freedoms are
protected."

===

Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely.

* Anti-Abortionists; Trump and Abortion Bans;
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]