A furious Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump as to blame during a visit to Arizona on Friday after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that an 1864 law banning nearly all abortions could be enforced.
“Donald Trump did this,” Harris said. She called him the ‘architect of this health crisis” and harshly criticized the former president for saying that he is “proudly the person responsible” for overturning Roe.
The vice president has been a leading figure in the Biden administration in defending abortion rights since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
‘As much damage as he has already caused, a second Trump term would be even worse. “Donald Trump’s friends in the United States Congress are trying to pass a national ban and understand that a national ban would ban abortion in all states,” Harris warned.
Harris claimed that a second Trump term would mean “more bans, more suffering and less freedom.”
‘Just like he did in Arizona, he basically wants to take America back to the 19th century. But we’re not going to let that happen,” Harris said. “We’re in 2024, not the 19th century, and we’re not going back.”
Vice President Harris spoke in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday after the state Supreme Court upheld an 1864 abortion ban. She criticized the former president, saying “Donald Trump did this.”
Harris called the Arizona Supreme Court’s abortion decision “one of the biggest aftershocks yet” after Roe was overturned.
The vice president’s visit to Tucson came shortly after the state Supreme Court lifted a stay on the 160-year-old law banning abortion, meaning it could take effect in 14 days.
“They have turned the clock back to the 19th century to take away a woman’s most fundamental right: the right to make decisions about her own body,” Harris said.
“This decision by the Arizona State Supreme Court now means that women here live under one of the most extreme abortion bans in our nation,” she added.
Harris called the ruling one of the “biggest aftershocks yet” after Roe was overturned.
Women waiting for Vice President Harris to speak in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday
Trump posted on social media Friday that the Arizona Supreme Court “went too far in its ruling on abortion.”
He wrote ‘now the Governor and Arizona Legislature must use their HEART, COMMON SENSE and ACT IMMEDIATELY to remedy what happened. Remember, now it depends on the States and the Good Will of those who represent THE PEOPLE.
He also requested exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. The Civil War-era law only has one exception to save the mother’s life.
Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, has called on the legislature to immediately repeal the ban.
But on Wednesday, Republicans in both chambers of the state legislature blocked Democrats’ attempts to introduce bills to repeal the 1864 law.
Both chambers of the Arizona state legislature are controlled by Republicans.
It came just hours after Trump said it would be “fixed” and suggested it would happen very quickly.
The Biden-Harris campaign on Thursday announced a new seven-figure ad campaign in Arizona that takes direct aim at Trump on abortion rights following the state Supreme Court decision.
Trump wrote that Arizona’s abortion ruling “went too far” after the state’s Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law. The issue returned to the states after Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022.
Trump claimed Wednesday that Arizona’s ban would be “fixed” quickly, but hours later Republicans in the state legislature blocked efforts to roll back the 1864 law.
The Arizona court’s 4-2 decision paved the way for a law written nearly fifty years before Arizona became a state and more than fifty years before women had the right to vote.
It establishes sentences of two to five years in prison for anyone who helps perform an abortion, unless the procedure is necessary to save the mother’s life.
Harris has been on a ‘Fight for Reproductive Freedom’ tour across the country that included stops in Wisconsin, California, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Minnesota.
Last month, she became the first vice president or sitting president to visit an abortion clinic with a trip to a Planned Parenthood facility in Minnesota.
Harris became the first vice president or sitting president to visit an abortion clinic last month with a visit to Planned Parenthood in Saint Paul, MN.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state can enforce its long-dormant law that criminalizes all abortions except when the mother’s life is at stake. Pictured: Thousands protest at the Arizona State Capitol after the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The 4-2 decision could influence other states seeking to restrict abortion and could have far-reaching impacts heading into the 2024 elections. Pictured: Arizona Supreme Court justices from left to right; William G. Montgomery, John R. Lopez IV, Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer, Chief Justice Robert M. Brutinel, Clint Bolick and James Been
On Monday, Trump said his position on abortion is that it should be left to the states.
The former president made the announcement in a four and a half minute video published on Truth Social.
His comments marked a departure from his previous suggestions that he would consider a federal ban, as the abortion issue has proven politically toxic for Republicans in recent elections.
‘Trump wants us to believe he won’t sign a national ban. Enough of the gaslighting,” Harris said Friday.
Some Republicans in tough races have also changed course on the issue after the state Supreme Court ruling, including Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake.
In a more than five-minute video Thursday, Lake said the state Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the 1864 law is “out of line” with the situation of Arizonans.
But in 2022, Lake praised the law as “excellent” while running for governor.
Donald Trump released a video Monday in which he praised the overturning of Roe v Wade and said he believes the abortion issue should be left up to the states.
Arizona passed a 15-week abortion ban in 2022, but the state Supreme Court upheld Arizona’s 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions without exceptions for rape or incest.
Last week, a coalition of advocates announced that they had already gathered more than 500,000 signatures for the petition. The threshold to put a measure on the ballot is 383,923 and there are still three months until the July 3 deadline.
Arizona for Abortion Access said the amendment appears to be on track to go before voters this fall.