Biden campaign ad blames Trump for near-death of woman denied abortion in Texas: ‘Donald Trump did this’

A new ad released by the Biden campaign on Monday ripped into Donald Trump’s stance on abortion, blaming the former president for the near-death of a Texas woman who was denied the procedure due to the state’s ban.

The 60-second ad, titled “Willow’s Box”, featured an emotional interview with Amanda Zurawski, who discussed the miscarriage of her baby – whom she wanted to name Willow – and the infection that almost killed her twice when she was denied an abortion.

In the video, Ms Zurawski is seen sobbing as the ad’s text explains doctors were forced to send her home after she had a miscarriage because of a state law banning abortions even if medically necessary following the repeal of Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court in June 2022.

Three days later, Ms Zurawski was placed in the ICU with sepsis, and the infection may prevent her from ever getting pregnant again, the ad claimed.

“Trump did this,” the ad continues.

Ms Zurawski is currently the lead plaintiff in a case challenging Texas’ definition of medical emergencies in relation to its anti-abortion law.

She, along with 12 other women who were denied abortions in Texas, filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s medical board has “done nothing” to clarify the law surrounding exceptions to the abortion ban and that doctors should be given more leeway in determining when an abortion is necessary.

Attorneys for the state have sought to dismiss the case altogether, arguing in court filings that the women lack standing to challenge the law because some of the women – whose fertility is now compromised due to them being denied abortions – no longer need to worry about the bans because they are unlikely to become pregnant again, and thus have no grounds to sue.

Ms Zurawski called the state’s argument “infuriating and disgusting and ironic,” and stressed that the scarring and damage to her reproductive organs that led to potential infertility was caused by the infection she incurred due to the abortion restrictions.

As part of the lawsuit, she gave harrowing testimony at a court hearing in Austin, Texas, last July.

“Do they not realise the reason why I might not be able to get pregnant again is because of what happened to me as a result of the laws that they support?” she told the court. “Anybody who’s been through infertility will tell you it is the most isolating, grueling, lonely, difficult thing a person can go through.”

The new Biden campaign video featuring Ms Zurawski was released just hours after Mr Trump laid out his stance on abortion rights after teasing what his position would be for months.

Mr Trump said he was “proudly the person responsible” for the overturning of Roe v Wade, the 1973 landmark ruling that had enshrined the right to an abortion and reproductive care.

“Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights, especially since I was proudly the person responsible for something that all legal scholars on both sides wanted and in fact demanded be ended: Roe v Wade. They wanted it ended,” he said, adding that the issue of abortion should be left to the states.

However, he stopped short of supporting a federal abortion ban.

He went on to push the false claims that Democrats want abortion up to and including the ninth month of pregnancy – and “even execution after birth”.

“That’s exactly what it is. The baby is born, the baby is executed after birth,” he claimed.

This claim has been disproven on multiple occasions. A baby being executed after birth would constitute murder, which is, of course, against the law in the US.

Following Mr Trump’s remarks, Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said the former president had “made clear” that he supports “cruel, extreme abortion bans” like the legislation in Texas, which bans abortion in all circumstances, including rape or incest, except for when the patient’s life is at risk.

“No woman should be forced into the situation Amanda was – being denied medical care and almost dying because of Texas’ abortion ban. But that is the reality in the United States of America today, made possible only because of Donald Trump – a nightmare that he brags about,” Ms Rodriguez added.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed this sentiment, telling reporters on Monday: “So, the only reason that extreme abortion bans are now in effect all over the country is because of the judges the previous president and Senate Republicans put in the courts.”

Meanwhile, Mr Biden also hit back at Mr Trump, claiming that he is “simply lying” about support from legal scholars for overturning Roe v Wade.

“It was never about public policy or what was right or what Trump believed. It was always about politics.” he said. “Trump is scrambling. He’s worried that since he’s the one responsible for overturning Roe, the voters will hold him accountable in 2024.

“Well, I have news for Donald. They will. America was built on personal freedom and liberty. So, there is nothing more unAmerican than having our personal freedoms taken away. And that is what Donald Trump has done.”

Since the constitutional right to abortion was banned in the US, total bans on the procedure have been implemented in Indiana and North Dakota. Meanwhile, abortions are banned after six weeks of pregnancy in South Carolina and twelve weeks in North Carolina and Nebraska.

Altogether, 14 states have enacted near-total abortion bans.