Trump Doubles Down on Anti-Abortion Stance

Washington, DC -– As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz seem to be neck in neck leading into the Iowa Caucuses, it seems that Donald Trump has doubled down on his opposition to abortion. First he authored an op-ed in the Washington Examiner, offensively labeling women’s ability to access safe, legal abortion as a “culture of death.” And now he’s boycotting tonight’s Fox News debate to hold court with two of the Republicans’ most staunch opponents of not just safe, legal abortion, but also women’s access to birth control — Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.

Statement from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“It’s disgusting to see Donald Trump doubling down on his opposition to women’s basic access to health care. Trump may strike a sensationalist note, but when it comes to women’s health there’s no difference between him, Ted Cruz, or even Rick Santorum — all of the leading GOP candidates for President would ban access to safe, legal abortion; put an end to no-copay birth control; and block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood health centers.”

Background: Rick Santorum wants to ban abortion with no exceptions, and would criminalize doctors who perform abortions in cases of rape and incest.

On NBC’s Meet the Press, Rick Santorum was asked if he believed in any exceptions for abortion, like in case of rape or incest. Santorum’s response was: “I believe that any doctor that performs an abortion, I would advocate that any doctor that performs an abortion, should be criminally charged for doing so.” [Think Progress, 5/11/12]

On CNN, when asked about his strict position on banning abortion with no exceptions, Santorum said: “I believe and I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created, in the sense of rape, but nevertheless gift...we have to make the best of a bad situation.” [CNN.com, 1/20/12]

Background: Mike Huckabee said he Won't Rule Out Using Federal Troops To Stop Abortions

According to the Huffington Post, Mike Huckabee said he was open to the idea of using federal troops and the FBI to stop women from having abortions, saying "I will not pretend there is nothing we can do to stop this." [Huffington Post, 7/31/2015]

Mike Huckabee would force a ten-year-old rape victim to carry the pregnancy to term: When asked about a horrific case in Paraguay, where the government refused to allow an 10-year-old girl who had been raped by her stepfather to access abortion, Huckabee agreed with the decision, saying he also would not allow her to access an abortion, saying, “let’s not compound the tragedy by taking yet another life,” he said in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union. [TIME, 8/16/15]

Background: Trump said that since Roe v. Wade was decided, we’ve been “sliding toward a culture of death”: “Over time, our culture of life in this country has started sliding toward a culture of death. Perhaps the most significant piece of evidence to support this assertion is that since Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court 43 years ago, over 50 million Americans never had the chance to enjoy the opportunities offered by this country.” [Washington Examiner, 1/23/16]