On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump said that a new court ruling in Arizona upholding a near total ban on abortion in the state – based on a 19th-century law – had gone too far and “needs to be straightened out.” Under the law from 1864, anyone who performs the procedure or helps a woman access that care could face felony charges and up to two to five years in prison. The law includes an exception to save the woman’s life.
Trump made the comments while speaking to reporters after landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ahead of a campaign fundraiser; when asked if the Arizona court’s judges went too far, Trump replied: “Yeah, they did …It’s all about states’ rights and it needs to be straightened out …And I’m sure that the governor and everybody else will bring it back into reason and that will be taken care of.” Trump also reiterated his position that the issue of abortion should be left up to states: “It’s the will of the people,” he said, adding that he would not sign a federal abortion ban if he is elected president again and Congress sends such legislation to his desk (per ABC News.)
When asked about a Florida court decision earlier this month that upheld the state’s 15-week ban and paved the way for a six-week ban, Trump said that “is probably going to change” while emphasizing his part in the “incredible achievement” of overruling Roe v. Wade’s abortion protections and leaving it up to the states: “We did that and now the states have it, and the states are putting out what they want. It’s the will of the people. Arizona is going to definitely change, everybody wants that to happen.”
President Joe Biden’s campaign spokesman Michael Tyler responded by slamming Trump’s comments, saying the former President “lies constantly – about everything — but has one track record: banning abortion every chance he gets. Donald Trump owns the suffering and chaos happening right now, including in Arizona, because he proudly overturned Roe – something he called ‘an incredible thing’ and ‘pretty amazing’ just today.”
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