Vice President Kamala Harris blames Trump for Arizona abortion ban in Tucson visit
Vice President Kamala Harris argued Friday that former President Donald Trump is to blame for the Arizona Supreme Court's Tuesday decision to uphold a near-total ban on abortion, countering the former president's recent efforts to distance himself from the decision.
“Donald Trump is the architect of this health care crisis. And that’s not a fact, by the way, that he hides. In fact, he brags about it," Harris said to a crowd of about 100 supporters at El Rio Neighborhood Center in Tucson.
"Just minutes ago, (Trump) said ... the collection of state bans is 'working the way it's supposed to,'" Harris said, referencing Trump's remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The day before Tuesday's decision, Trump reiterated his support for the U.S. Supreme Court’s rollback of Roe v. Wade and said he believes the matter should be left to the states.
He took a different tone on Friday, the morning of Harris' Tucson visit, writing in a social media post that Arizona's Supreme Court went "too far" in Tuesday's ruling and called on the governor and Arizona's Legislature "to remedy what has happened."
"Remember, it is now up to the States and the Good Will of those that represent THE PEOPLE. We must ideally have the three Exceptions for Rape, Incest, and Life of the Mother," Trump wrote.
Harris has also claimed that Trump would sign a national abortion ban if given the chance. The Trump campaign has called that statement “dishonest,” noting that he is calling for state-level laws on the issue rather than a national one, though he has suggested his support for a national law in the past.
The Republican-led restrictions on abortion are expected to galvanize Democratic voters in Arizona, a swing state crucial to the presidential election this year.
Democrats in the Arizona House of Representatives attempted to repeal the 1864 law on Wednesday, only to be thwarted by the Republican majority.
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State Sen. Eva Burch, D-Mesa, who made national headlines in March after revealing on the Senate floor that she was pregnant and obtained an abortion, called Trump's Friday morning comments an "acknowledgment of fault" in an interview ahead of Harris' remarks.
"It's not enough to just ask the Democrats to fix your mistakes. You also have to own your mistakes," Burch said. "The only reason that we are here right now is because Donald Trump stacked the Supreme Court with judges who were prepared to overturn Roe. Had that not happened, we wouldn't be where we are right now."
Biden's campaign released a statement along the same lines, calling Trump's comment a "scramble" on a law "he enabled."
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running for the U.S. Senate, helped introduce Harris onstage. He took direct aim at his likely Republican opponent in the Senate race, Kari Lake, who called the territorial-era ban a "great law" while running for governor during the last election cycle.
This week, Lake said that the 1864 law she once praised was "out of step with Arizonans."
"She wanted this to happen," Gallego said of Lake. "They all did. Do not let them lie to you."
Aides to Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gallego has rarely highlighted his support for Biden's administration in his ongoing campaign for Senate. He has been absent at several recent Biden campaign events, saying he had to be present in Washington, D.C., to take votes. He missed eight votes in D.C. on Friday, the day of Harris' event, including one to reauthorize a controversial U.S. spy program.
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Prior to this week’s ruling, abortion was legal in Arizona through 15 weeks of pregnancy. Republican politicians in Arizona had asked the courts to allow police and prosecutors to enforce a stricter law, signed when Arizona was still a territory, that would ban abortions unless the life of the mother is at risk.
On Tuesday, the state’s highest court upheld the territorial-era law.
The decision will have sweeping consequences for prenatal medical care. Providers and health care experts say Tuesday's decision will increase maternal mortality, and it has left some clinics uncertain what services or advice they can offer pregnant patients once the ruling goes into effect.
Harris has traveled across the country to rail against Republican-led attempts to restrict abortion. She appeared in Phoenix in early March to argue that Arizona’s laws “criminalize doctors" and "punish" women, calling the state’s anti-abortion advocates “extremists.”
The campaign did not publicly announce the time or precise location of Harris' visit prior to the event.
An hour before Harris' remarks, about a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters were gathered by the side of the road across from the event, holding signs and singing chants that criticized the Biden administration's handling of Israel's ongoing military campaign into the Gaza Strip. Biden's campaign has taken measures to avoid protests on the topic at their public appearances, such as keeping the location under wraps and holding smaller events.
During her remarks, Harris said that the veteran Tucson-area Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., had wanted to attend the event and wished him well after his recent announcement that he has been diagnosed with cancer.
Laura Gersony covers national politics for The Arizona Republic. Contact her at [email protected] or 480-372-0389.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Visiting Tucson, Kamala Harris blames Trump for Arizona abortion ban