President Biden's campaign is launching a new seven-figure ad buy Thursday centered around abortion, a centerpiece issue for his campaign, as it attempts to link restrictive state abortion bans to former President Donald Trump.
It will run on the two-year anniversary of the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion on the Dobbs case, which overturned Roe v. Wade and transferred decisions about abortion access to the states.
The campaign ad, titled "Prosecute," first shared with CBS News, features an OBGYN physician in Texas talking about how the state's near-total abortion ban, enacted after the Dobbs decision, forced her to flee the state to get care.
"If Donald Trump is elected, that is the end of a woman's right to choose. There will be no place to turn. We could lose our rights in every state, even the ones where abortion is currently legal," says Austin Dennard in the ad.
The ad begins with a portion of Mr. Trump's interview with Time Magazine in which he said that it should be up to states to decide whether to prosecute women who receive abortions.
Trump's Stance on Abortion
In a recent interview with Time magazine, former President Trump stated that he believes states should have the authority to prosecute women who undergo abortions, regardless of his personal comfort with the idea. He emphasized that the decision lies with the states, not with him.
Furthermore, Trump mentioned that he would support states in monitoring women's pregnancies to ensure they did not have an abortion.
The Biden campaign responded to Trump's statements by launching a new ad that will air in battleground states. This move comes in the wake of recent abortion-related legislation, including a six-week abortion ban in Florida and the repeal of an 1864 law in Arizona that aimed to enforce a near-total abortion ban.
The ad campaign reflects Biden's strategy to highlight the impact of Trump-appointed judges on abortion rights, particularly in light of efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade. This latest ad is part of a series of television spots focusing on abortion issues.
Biden Campaign's Response
Reacting to Trump's statements, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez condemned the idea of states surveilling, prosecuting, and punishing women for seeking reproductive care. She vowed that the campaign would continue to raise awareness about the implications for women if Trump's views on abortion were to prevail in the upcoming election.
As the Biden campaign gears up to mobilize voters through ads, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to continue her "Fight for Reproductive Freedoms" tour. Reports indicate that Harris will be making a campaign stop in Philadelphia on May 6 with a focus on abortion access.
This upcoming visit to Philadelphia will be Harris's third trip to Pennsylvania this year, but it will be the first time she addresses the topic of abortion in the Keystone state. Her decision to visit Philadelphia follows a recent trip to Florida where she discussed the state's six-week abortion ban.
"Joe Biden and I hold a different perspective," Harris emphasized to Floridians. "We firmly believe that no politician should ever intervene between a woman and her doctor."
During her tour stops, Harris has consistently attributed abortion bans to Trump, labeling him as the "architect of this health care crisis." Harris has been cautioning her audiences that a potential second term for Trump would exacerbate the situation, asserting that he would sign a national abortion ban if re-elected in November.
Trump expressed support for a national abortion ban bill during his tenure in the White House. As a candidate, he hinted in a recent interview that he might consider endorsing a 15-week national abortion ban. However, in recent statements, he has evaded directly addressing whether he would sign such a ban into law, stating that abortion access should be determined by individual states.
In a recent interview with Fox 6 in Wisconsin, he explicitly stated, "I am not in favor of signing a national abortion ban. This is misinformation spread by the Democrats."
Following the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, 21 states have implemented strict abortion bans, with some prohibiting abortions after the first 18 weeks of pregnancy, as reported by the Guttmacher Institute.
A recent poll conducted by CBS News in battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin revealed that over 60% of voters in each state are closely monitoring the developments surrounding the abortion bans in Arizona and Florida.
Interestingly, the poll also showed that not all voters attribute the overturning of Roe v. Wade to Trump. In Wisconsin, where abortion is currently restricted after 20 weeks of pregnancy, only 40% of respondents held Trump responsible, while 44% did not credit or blame him for the decision.
Despite the attention on abortion bans, voters in these states ranked other pressing issues such as the economy, democracy, and crime as more significant factors influencing their decision-making.
During a recent rally in Freeland, Michigan, Trump celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, stating that "a lot of controversy has now been taken out" of the situation.
Trump also emphasized the importance of staying true to personal beliefs while also considering electoral success, especially directing this message to fellow Republicans regarding their stance on abortion.
