In an interesting development earlier this week, former U.S. President Donald Trump applauded the overturning of the landmark reproductive rights case Roe v. Wade and quite controversially accused Democrats of advocating for the killing of newborn babies. He made these remarks while calling for national unity in an abortion position statement released on Monday.
Trump claimed sole credit for ending Roe v. Wade, stating, “I was proudly the person responsible for the ending of something that all legal scholars — both sides wanted and, in fact, demanded, be ended. Roe v. Wade. They wanted it ended.” It is noteworthy to recall that during his presidency, Trump successfully nominated three Conservative justices to the nation’s highest court.
The cohort he nominated was among the justices who issued the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in 2022. This ruling effectively overturned the reproductive rights established by Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the U.S. It stated that abortion was not a constitutional right, but a state issue, laying the groundwork for states to ban abortion. Since then, reproductive rights have become increasingly fragmented.
Trump also voiced support for in vitro fertilization (IVF), a course of treatments where fertility specialists inseminate eggs with sperm outside of the body and subsequently implant an embryo into the uterus for gestation.
Arguably the most contentious part of his statement was the accusation that Democrats advocate for the execution of newborn babies. Trump did not provide any source for this claim, but it may refer to a controversial academic article released in 2013 that argued the killing of newborns was ethically on par with abortion. Florida Governor and Trump’s former rival for the Republican ticket Ron DeSantis also drew criticism last year for making a similar claim without evidence.
In a call for unity, Trump suggested everyone, regardless of political allegiance, should work together to “save our country, which is currently and very sadly, a nation in decline.” However, current President Joe Biden, who will face Trump in the coming election, has made the fight for reproductive rights a hallmark of his presidency.