WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s campaign and abortion-rights advocates held an abortion Friday after a report that former President Donald Trump had privately signaled in favor of a national ban on abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy, including exceptions in cases of rape. when kinship and the woman’s life are at stake.
During the presidential campaign, Trump avoided taking a public stance on a prospective national ban that would require congressional approval, but The New York Times reported on this On Friday, he announced behind closed doors that he favors the idea of banning abortion after 16 weeks in most cases.
A source familiar with the discussions told NBC News that she has spoken with her advisers about supporting abortion rights up to 16 weeks, although a separate source cautioned that she disagrees with a federal ban. Trump’s campaign blasted the reports in a statement, calling them “fake news”.
“As President Trump has said, he will sit down with both sides and negotiate a deal that everyone is happy with,” Trump campaign national press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said in a statement. “Joe Biden and nearly every Democrat in Congress are on record as supporting radical on-demand abortions.”
Seizing on the potential political impact, the Biden campaign and abortion rights advocates staged a press conference to paint the former president as a dangerous and extreme possibility if elected in November.
Biden himself in Roe v. He issued a lengthy statement outlining the impact of Wade’s reversal, including the passage of tougher anti-abortion laws in conservative states.
“Now, after taking away women’s freedom, after endangering women’s lives, after unleashing all this cruelty and chaos across America, Trump is afraid. He is afraid of women. Americans will hold him accountable at the ballot box in November for taking away their rights and endangering their rights.” said Biden. “The choice is very simple, Kamala and I will restore Roe v. Wade and make it the law of the land once again. Donald Trump will ban abortion throughout the country.”
One January NBC News survey 44% of registered voters said Biden would handle abortion better than Trump, while 32% said the opposite. In 2022, Roe v. Trump, who appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Wade’s abortion protections, blamed Republican election losses on GOP candidates tightening abortion bans at the state and national levels.
“I just want people to understand that all abortion bans are radical and voters deeply dislike them,” she said. “Exemptions are designed not to work, and they are impossible to enforce in these incredibly draconian states with these extreme bans. So it’s going to be our job as advocates to make it clear to the American people, this is not a moderate position, and we have to aggressively and often refute it.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, a key Trump ally on the issue and president of the anti-abortion SBA List, welcomed the idea of a 16-week ban on Friday.
“We strongly agree with President Trump on protecting babies from the violence of abortion, at least when they feel pain,” Dannenfelser told NBC News. “President Trump wants to lead in finding consensus, and that’s where the nation is.”
Trump once took credit for his role in restricting access to abortion. boasting in May: “I was able to kill Roe v. Wade.” One September interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, he softened his tone but mentioned 15 weeks as a possible number.
Trump later said that “people are starting to think of 15 weeks” as “a number that people are talking about right now” in terms of the federal abortion ban, but quickly said, “No, no,” when asked if he would sign it. legislation as president.
“We’ll settle for a few weeks or months or whatever you want.” he said. “And both sides will come together, and both sides — both sides, and this is a big statement — both sides will come together. And for the first time in 52 years, you’re going to have a problem that we can put behind us.