Kamala Harris Criticizes Donald Trump Over Near-Total Arizona Abortion Ban: "Donald Trump Did This"

Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump on Friday during a campaign event in Arizona, in response to the Arizona Supreme Court's recent decision to implement an abortion ban that dates back to 1864. Harris stated, “We all must understand who is to blame. Former President Donald Trump did this...[He] is the architect of this health care crisis. And that is not a fact, by the way, that he hides. In fact, he brags about it.” 

As per Huff Post, Harris underlined the significance of the 2024 election result for reproductive rights, asserting that, should the Republican leader be reelected in November, he will sign legislation outlawing abortion nationwide. Earlier this week, the Arizona Supreme Court approved the reinstatement of the antiquated abortion law, which existed before Arizona became a state. Except in cases where the life of the pregnant woman is in danger, almost all abortions are prohibited. Additionally, providing abortions is a felony that carries a sentence of two to five years in jail. 

“Here in Arizona, they have turned back the clock to the 1800s to take away a woman’s most fundamental right, the right to make decisions over her own body,” Harris told the audience in Tucson. “The overturning of Roe was, without any question, a seismic event. And this ban here in Arizona is one of the biggest aftershocks yet.”

As per Newsweek, Harris criticized Trump for gaslighting, "...Because of Donald Trump, more than 20 states in our nation have bans...One in three women of reproductive age in our country lives in a state that has a Trump abortion ban...Now Trump wants us to believe he will not sign a national ban? Enough with the gaslighting." 

Harris continued, “What has happened here in Arizona is a new inflection point...It has demonstrated once and for all that overturning Roe was just the opening act of a larger strategy to take women’s rights and freedoms— part of a full-on attack, state by state, on reproductive freedom.” Harris issued a warning, claiming that should Trump be reelected, he might decide to implement the Comstock Act, an 1873 statute that makes it unlawful to mail 'obscene' information, such as things about contraception and sexual health. Conservative anti-choice organizations have outlined their strategy for enforcing the outdated law and establishing a backdoor nationwide ban on abortion. 

“Just like what he did in Arizona, he basically wants to take America back to the 1800s,” Harris said. “But we are not going to let that happen.” Trump has continuously exalted himself for having appointed the three judges of the Supreme Court who were instrumental in overturning Roe v. Wade. The 2024 GOP frontrunner stated this week that he thought states should have the final say over abortion rights, but he later claimed the Arizona decision went too far.