Vice President Kamala Harris went to Arizona, the state that became the center of the abortion rights debate this week when its Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law prohibiting nearly all abortions, to assess responsibility. "We all must understand who is to blame," the Democrat told a campaign rally in Tucson on Friday, the BBC reports. "Donald Trump is the architect of this health care crisis." In 2016, Trump made a campaign promise of appointing US Supreme Court justices who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. The three he nominated did that in June 2022, ending national access to abortion, and Republican-run states have taken steps like Arizona's since.
"Donald Trump did this," said Harris, who is running for reelection with President Biden. Trump has backtracked since the Arizona ruling, saying the decision went too far. On Friday, the GOP presidential candidate posted on Truth Social that the state's legislators should undo it "as fast as possible." Republicans blocked an effort to do that on Wednesday. Trump said that ideally, Arizona would allow exceptions to the ban in cases of rape, incest, and instances in which the life of the mother is at risk, per the Hill. Kari Lake, a Trump ally running for US Senate in Arizona, also has retreated after previously calling the 19-century legislation a "great law." Lake reportedly also is pushing legislators to repeal the law.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs also wants the law repealed but criticized the "political opportunism" of Republicans. "I am pretty tired of cleaning up Donald Trump's messes in Arizona," Hobbs said Friday, adding, "This is what they wanted when they worked to overturn Roe v. Wade." Harris told the rally this could be just the beginning. "A second Trump term would be even worse ... he will sign a national abortion ban," she said. A spokesman for the Trump campaign said Trump does not support a national ban, per the BBC. "These are decisions for people of each state to make," he said. (More anti-abortion laws stories.)
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