President Joe Biden has condemned abortion bans that have increasingly endangered the health of pregnant women,forcing them to grow sicker before they can receive medical care – and he laid the blame on Donald Trump,his likely Republican challenger in this year’s election.
“He’s betting we won’t hold him responsible,” Biden said to a crowd of hundreds of cheering supporters. “He’s betting you’re going to stop caring.”
“But guess what?” he added. “I’m betting he’s wrong. I’m betting you won’t forget.”
The rally with Vice President Kamala Harris came on the same day as the New Hampshire primary,where Trump aims to tighten his grip on his party’s presidential nomination,and it demonstrated how Democrats hope to harness enduring anger over abortion restrictions to blunt his comeback bid.
Roe v. Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court less than two years ago in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organisation,a decision enabled by three conservative justices appointed by Trump.
“The person most responsible for taking away this freedom in America is Donald Trump,” he said.
The speech was Biden’s bluntest yet on abortion and the status of reproductive health,but it was disrupted several times by protests over Israel’s war in Gaza. One person shouted “shame on you!”
“This is going to go on for a while;they got this planned,” the Democratic president said as the protestors were escorted out one by one.
Biden and Harris were joined by their spouses,first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff,at Monday’s rally. It’s the first time the four of them have appeared together since the campaign began,a reflection of the importance that Democrats are putting on abortion this year.
AP