Tucson, Arizona
CNN
—
Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday called the Arizona Supreme Court's decision banning abortion in nearly all cases a “turning point” in the fight for abortion rights and pointed the blame at Donald Trump.
Harris headed to Arizona to mobilize voters who see the November election as a referendum on women's rights, one of the Biden campaign's key issues in the upcoming election. The vice president has become a go-to voice for the abortion rights movement and announced a trip to Tucson shortly after Tuesday's ruling.
The ruling reinstates a 160-year-old law that bans all abortions except when it is “necessary to save” a pregnant woman's life, and “proves once and for all that this law can be overturned.” egg “This was just the beginning of a larger strategy to restrict access to abortion in the United States,” Harris said in Tucson.
“And we all have to understand whose fault it is,” she added. “Former President Donald Trump did this.”
She explained the stakes of the upcoming election in frank terms. “This fight is about freedom.”
Harris has been traveling around the country since January as part of her reproductive rights tour, arguing that abortion rights will be balanced against the outcome of the election. Last month, Harris visited a family planning clinic in Minnesota, becoming the first sitting vice president or president to visit an abortion provider.
Harris called Roe's reversal in 2022 a “seismic event” and described the Arizona ban as “one of the biggest aftershocks.”
Democrats have made abortion a key political issue ahead of November, predicting that moderate voters, especially women, could turn against Trump in droves by directly linking it to the abortion ban.
Both Biden and Harris have repeatedly campaigned on Trump's boast of overturning a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court and creating a conservative majority. Roe vs. Wade The federal government has protected abortion rights for almost half a century, but in 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.
Harris' remarks Friday came shortly after President Trump touted Roe's reversal during an event with House Speaker Mike Johnson at Mar-a-Lago, during which she said, “Roe vs. “The Wade fight is over,” he boasted.
Harris said a second term for President Trump would involve “more prohibition, more suffering, and less freedom.”
“He basically wants to take America back to the 1800s, just like he did in Arizona,” Harris said. “But we are not going to allow that,” she added.
“We are not going back,” she said.
Biden's campaign is seeking to build momentum in battleground Arizona after Tuesday's ruling, arguing that Republicans are “out of step” and launching a seven-figure ad buy on the issue.
In a new 30-second ad, “Power Back,” President Joe Biden puts the blame squarely on Trump. The campaign plans to spend seven figures on that ad and another that was introduced earlier this week that tells the stories of women affected by Texas' abortion ban.
Harris' team has focused on reproductive rights, an issue it believes the vice president is uniquely positioned to lead. The issue has been a top concern for the vice president, dating back to 2021 when she convened the Reproductive Rights Roundtable.
According to a KFF survey, about half of registered U.S. voters say this year's election will have a “significant impact” on access to abortion, and about one in eight voters say abortion will be a factor in their vote. states that this is the most important motivating issue.
The issue mobilized moderate and liberal voters in the midterm elections and led to Democratic victories in national polls.
“This is going to be a driving issue,” one Democratic strategist told CNN, arguing that the Arizona court ruling was another data point that strengthened the party's case. “This provides a salient data point to counter the Republican argument that we are extreme.”
The Biden campaign has repeatedly sought to spread the message that President Trump is “responsible for the state of reproductive freedom in Arizona today.” As President Trump works to thread the political needle on the issue, his campaign will likely continue to link him directly to policy.
Trump and Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake released a statement opposing the Arizona Supreme Court's decision. And while President Trump said Wednesday that he would not sign a nationwide abortion ban if he became president, his position on abortion has been wishful thinking for decades.
Harris said Friday's comments made her question Trump's sincerity.
“Enough gaslighting,” she said.
This headline and story were updated with additional developments Friday.