Donald Trump Can’t Erase His Anti-Abortion Record, No Matter How Hard He Tries

WASHINGTON, DC - After consistently losing at the ballot box following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, many anti-abortion politicians are trying to distance themselves from their deeply unpopular records. Donald Trump, who has taken full credit for “killing Roe v. Wade,” is trying to erase his long-documented record of attacking sexual and reproductive health care, especially abortion access. 

Trump may be downplaying just how dangerous he is on abortion, but anti-abortion advocates still see him as one of the biggest players in their corner, the Washington Post reports. We must be prepared for the lies anti-abortion politicians will tell to attempt to cover their records, including Trump. He’s said what he has said, he’s done what he’s done – and he must be held accountable. 
 

Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them. Donald Trump has shown us over and over again where he stands on abortion and the great lengths he will go to strip away our fundamental freedoms. Try as he might, Trump cannot backpedal from the irreparable damage to abortion rights that he’s already directly caused to millions of people, and even bragged about, when it suited him. Come November, we know that voters will not be fooled: President Biden and Vice President Harris are the only ticket with a record on sexual and reproductive rights that matches their words.”

Trump’s Record on Abortion and Sexual and Reproductive Health Care 

Donald Trump is responsible for some of the most egregious attacks on sexual and reproductive health care by the federal government. Here are some of the highlights: 

• Trump stacked the federal courts with anti-abortion judges. He nominated three anti-abortion Supreme Court justices, who then proceeded to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, and nominated over 200 judges, many of whom have proved to be hostile to abortion rights.
• Trump and his administration repeatedly backed legislation to ban abortion nationwide. This bill would ban all abortions at 20 weeks with extremely limited exceptions, denying a person access to abortion care, even in the cases of severe and dangerous health complications. 
• Trump filled his Cabinet with anti-abortion appointees, including Vice President Pence, Attorney General Barr, Secretary of State Pompeo, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, and more.
• Trump imposed several policies that restricted access to sexual and reproductive health care, including Title X and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. He gutted funding and protections for the Title X programs by repealing the non-discrimination rule and eliminated the requirement that Title X patients receive counseling related to all of their reproductive health options. Trump also proposed blocking Title X patients from receiving family planning services at Planned Parenthood health centers and “defunding” Planned Parenthood, and eliminating all funding for international family planning programs
• Trump manipulated the COVID-19 pandemic to restrict access to medication abortion and laid the foundation for the current legal battle. During the pandemic, Trump asked the Supreme Court to reinstate a burdensome rule to require patients seeking abortion care to have an in-person visit prior to accessing medication from their doctor. 
• Trump consistently leveraged his administration to undermine access to birth control. The Affordable Care Act required that employer-provided health insurance cover birth control at no cost – the Trump administration rolled back this requirement 

Trump’s Own Words on Abortion

CNBC: 

Politico:

Vox:

NBC News:

Independent:

USA Today:

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education.