President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris marked the second anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade by launching pointed attacks on former President Donald Trump's stance on abortion rights. This offensive comes just three days before the highly anticipated presidential debate, signaling a strategic move to highlight the contentious issue of reproductive rights in the upcoming election.
"Trump has not denied, much less shown remorse for his actions. Instead, he 'proudly' takes credit for overturning Roe," Harris declared at an abortion rights rally in Maryland. "My fellow Americans, in a court of law that would be called an admission in the case of the stealing of reproductive freedom from the women of America. Donald Trump is guilty."
The Biden administration has made it clear that abortion rights will be a central theme of their campaign. Both Biden and Harris, along with their surrogates, are emphasizing this issue, which has proven to galvanize voters across the political spectrum over the past two years. Harris planned further engagements, including a roundtable discussion on abortion in Arizona, while First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff were also out campaigning in key states.
President Biden, though not on the campaign trail on the Dobbs anniversary, participated in debate preparations at Camp David. He reiterated his stance on abortion access in a statement, condemning the Supreme Court's decision as a direct consequence of Trump's judicial appointments. "Two years ago today, Donald Trump's Supreme Court majority ripped away the fundamental freedom for women to access the health care they need and deserve," Biden said. "The consequences have been devastating."
In a video message, Biden highlighted Trump's own words, accusing him of shattering decades of progress by "killing Roe v. Wade." Biden warned, "We know what will happen if he gets another four years. For MAGA Republicans, Roe is just the beginning. They're going to try to ban the right to choose nationwide. They're coming for IVF and birth control next."
The Biden campaign bolstered their message with a new television ad featuring Kaitlyn Joshua from Louisiana, who recounted her harrowing experience with abortion bans following a miscarriage. "I was right around 11 weeks when I had a miscarriage. The pain that I was feeling was excruciating. And I was turned away from two emergency rooms," Joshua said, attributing her ordeal to the aftermath of Roe's overturning.
Trump, undeterred, continued to champion his role in the Supreme Court's decision at a Faith & Freedom conference, praising the appointment of justices who voted to overturn Roe. "I withstood vicious attacks to pick and confirm three great Supreme Court justices," he said. "We have also achieved what the pro-life movement fought to get for 49 years, and we've gotten abortion out of the federal government and back to the states."
The Trump campaign responded to the Biden administration's coordinated messaging by labeling Biden and Harris as "radical extremists." Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokesperson, accused the Democrats of supporting "taxpayer-funded abortions up until birth," a claim the White House denied. Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, clarified, "The president and the vice president do not support abortion up until the time of birth, nor do they support abortion after birth, in fact, that's not abortion."
Leavitt further argued that the Dobbs Decision appropriately returned the power to regulate abortion to the states, accusing Democrats of trying to scare voters with false claims about Trump's position. "President Trump also strongly supports ensuring women have access to the care they need to create healthy families, including widespread access to IVF, birth control, and contraception, and he always will," she added.
Despite these assurances, Congressional Republicans have recently blocked bills that would protect IVF and contraception, actions the White House condemned as "extreme," "out of touch," and "wrong." Harris, during her rally, was introduced by Kate Cox, a Texas woman who had to leave her state for an abortion due to health risks. "Today, I'm happy to share that I'm pregnant again," Cox announced to cheers. "I hope that by then, when we welcome our baby to the world, it will be a world led by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."
