Donald Trump has changed his stance on a nationwide abortion ban, but the damage is already done. In a video shared on Truth Social on April 8th, the former president said that he is “proudly the person responsible” for the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, because it gave individual states the power to decide how they approach abortion regulations. Trump said that by overturning the landmark Supreme Court decision of 1973 — which granted women around the nation the right to an abortion — conservatives took abortion laws “out of the federal hands and brought it into the hearts, minds, and vote of the people in each state.” Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, women in many states have lost access to safe, regulated medical abortions. Many states have no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices are responsible for overturning this case, and women are suffering.
In the video, Trump did not disclose which week during pregnancy he finds it appropriate to ban abortion, but he did say that he supports exceptions for “rape, incest and life of the mother.” However, in states with no exceptions, rape has led to 58,979 pregnancies as of January, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Republicans have gone on the record saying that forced birth can be “healing,” which is completely untrue and viciously cruel. Many rapes go unreported, and even fewer are prosecuted. Rapists who are charged are often given light sentences, meanwhile, a pregnant victim must live eternally bound to her rapist in states with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Abortion has not stopped, as the study found that “10 or fewer legal abortions occurred monthly in each of the total abortion ban states,” which “indicates that persons who have been raped and become pregnant cannot access legal abortions in their home state, even in states with rape exceptions.” It is unclear whether these women had illegal abortions, at-home abortions, out-of-state abortions, or abortion medication through the mail.
Women who want to have children who have non-viable pregnancies are also forced to carry their child to term. This is incredibly damaging to their mental health, as they know that their baby will not be alive or will only be alive for a few moments after birth. There is also a possibility of sepsis from the dead fetus, which can kill the mother.
Trump may be backtracking, but he is responsible for women living in fear. He was proud of it, and he still is. He opened the door for this archaic, dystopian legislation.
