President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign launched a brutal ad on abortion after Donald Trump said the issue should be left to the states, criticizing his Republican rival for his position.
“Donald Trump did this,” declares the ad, which features Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who sued the state after saying she nearly died from a miscarriage. The state basically banned all abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
In the 60-second video, Zurawski and her husband Josh talked about how they had started shopping for things for the baby while Amanda was pregnant, including a baby book and the outfit the baby was going to wear when he returned from the hospital.
Biden’s new ad features Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who sued the state after saying she almost died from a miscarriage, and her husband Josh.
As the couple talks about Amanda’s pregnancy, the The text on the screen reads: “Because Donald Trump killed Roe v. Wade, Amanda was denied the standard medical care to prevent infection, an abortion.”
Eighteen weeks into her pregnancy, Zurawski’s water broke, putting her at high risk for contracting a life-threatening infection. Her baby, named Willow, would surely die. Willow still had a heartbeat and so the doctors said that under Texas law they could not terminate the pregnancy.
Zurawski, who has testified before Congress about her experience, has said she only received an emergency abortion after her condition worsened and she went into septic shock.
The ad notes: ‘He almost died twice. The infection caused so much damage that Amanda may never get pregnant again.
Amanda concludes crying in the background while her husband consults her and the text: “Trump did this.”
Zurawski is one of five women suing the state of Texas over its abortion law. She attended Biden’s State of the Union address last year as a guest of first lady Jill Biden.
Amanda Zurawski was denied an abortion in Texas and developed sepsis
President Joe Biden is using the abortion issue to rally the Democratic base
Biden’s re-election team released the ad after Trump released a video in which he said abortion policy should be left to the states.
“We have abortions where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine it by voting or legislation or maybe both, and whatever they decide should be the law of the land,” Trump said in the video.
He also accused Democrats of believing in “executing the baby after birth.”
Trump had previously suggested he would support a 15-week federal abortion ban.
On Monday he said he was “strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”
The former president finally revealed his stance on the abortion issue after mocking it for months. His advisors are concerned that the issue will cost him votes.
Democrats are using the abortion issue as a rallying cry for their base, particularly women. It proved to be an effective issue for them in the 2022 midterm elections, where Democratic congressional candidates fared better than expected.
They are promoting it as the main political issue of this year.
Monday’s ad is part of a $30 million advertising campaign that will air in key states on local broadcast and cable television, as well as national cable, the Biden campaign said.
The re-election team criticized Trump after the former president laid out his position.
Biden, in a blunt statement, said Trump was “responsible for creating the cruelty and chaos that has engulfed the United States since the Dobbs decision,” referring to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
He accused Trump of making a ‘political deal’ to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade in exchange for the support of anti-abortion voters.
“Trump admits as much in his statement today,” Biden said. “Having created chaos by overturning Roe, he’s trying to say, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter.’ Don’t punish me for it. I just want to win.’
Donald Trump issued his position on abortion on Monday, saying it was up to the states.
Even some Republicans were critical of the former president, particularly conservatives.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close Trump ally, said there should be a national abortion law.
“I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue,” he said.
And he added: “I will continue to defend that there should be a national minimum standard that limits abortion to fifteen weeks because the child is capable of feeling pain, with exceptions in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said she was “deeply disappointed” by Trump’s refusal to support a federal abortion ban.