In Tucson, VP Kamala Harris blames Trump for Arizona's near-ban on abortion

Former President Donald Trump is to blame for Arizona’s near ban on abortion and is leading an effort to get similar restrictions passed across the county, Vice President Kamala Harris told a Tucson crowd in a politically-charged speech.

“Donald Trump is the architect of this health care crisis. And that’s not a fact he hides,” Harris told a friendly audience during her speech Friday at El Rio Center on Tucson’s west side.

“In fact, it’s something he brags about … and as much harm as he has already caused, a second Trump term would be even worse,” she said.

“If Donald Trump gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban. How do we know? Look at his record … here’s what a second Trump term looks like: more bans, more suffering, less freedom. We’re not going to let that happen.”

Harris announced her visit to Tucson hours after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday morning that an 1864 law criminalizing nearly all abortions is enforceable in the state.

Meanwhile, Trump is declaring anew that the Arizona Supreme Court “went too far” with its ruling, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

Trump’s comments came hours before Harris’s Tucson stop.

President Joe Biden and his allies blame Trump for eroding abortion access, and the issue has become a major liability for the former president in one of the handful of swing states that could decide the November election.

“The Governor and the Arizona Legislature must use HEART, COMMON SENSE, and ACT IMMEDIATELY, to remedy what has happened,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform, the Associated Press reported. “Remember, it is now up to the States and the Good Will of those that represent THE PEOPLE.”

He did not call for a specific course of action, such as repealing or watering down the law. He did say that “ideally” abortion restrictions should include exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

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“Arizona Legislature, please act as fast as possible!” Trump wrote.

Arizona House Republican leaders used procedural maneuvers twice on Wednesday to block lawmakers from deciding — or even debating — whether to repeal the 1864 law.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Harris has held more than 80 speaking events in 20 states about the political fight over women’s reproductive health. Trump has said often, the Associated Press reported, that he’s proud the Supreme Court justices he nominated overturned Roe, the 1973 ruling declaring a constitutional right to abortion.

“Here in Arizona, they have turned the clock back more than a century on women’s rights and freedoms,” Harris said in her Tucson speech to a crowd filled with many local politicians and abortion advocates.

Last month Harris visited Phoenix to say “extremists” in states across the country have proposed and enacted abortion bans that “threaten women’s heath, force them to travel out of the state to receive care, and criminalize doctors,” said a news release put out by the Biden-Harris campaign.

The campaign also announced a new seven-figure media blitz in Arizona this month targeting voters whose priorities are focused on abortion rights.

“The overturning of Roe was a seismic event,” Harris said here. “And this ban in Arizona is one of the biggest aftershocks yet.”

State Sen. Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, spoke passionately on the issue. She pointed out the fact that the Arizona law was set before women could vote or own a home, and when the legal age of consent was 10 years old.

“We deserve the right to have autonomy over our bodies,” Sundareshan said.

Harris said the fight over women’s health is about freedom.

“Now our lives are in danger because of (Donald Trump),” Harris told the audience. “If Donald Trump is elected to the White House, what freedoms do we lose next?”