In response to new reporting on Donald Trump’s MAGA allies’ plan to have a Republican president wield executive power to “result in the end of abortion in every single state in America,” DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump’s hand-picked justices overturned Roe v. Wade, and now his MAGA allies are devising a scheme to help him follow through with his plans to be a dictator on day one by empowering him to ban abortion nationwide without a single vote in Congress. Trump, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis have already made their support for a national abortion ban crystal clear, and this extreme anti-choice power grab would offer a direct path to rip away reproductive freedom from women across America. It’s a cruel, unpopular, and anti-democratic agenda that shows every American exactly what’s at stake in the election – and is yet another reason voters will reject whichever extreme MAGA Republican becomes the nominee this November.”

NEW: Trump’s MAGA Republican allies are pushing an extreme, cruel, and unpopular plan that could allow a Republican president to ban abortion nationwide without Congress.

NOTUS: “The Conservative Plan to Ban Abortion Without Congress”

“Anti-abortion advocates hope a Republican president will enforce a series of laws from the 1800s that will ‘result in the end of abortion in every single state in America.’”

“Anti-abortion activists have their eyes on a bigger prize: If former President Donald Trump wins a second term in the White House, they hope and expect that he’ll effectively ban abortions throughout the United States by prohibiting the shipment not just of abortion drugs, but any tools doctors could use to induce an abortion.

“They’re pinning their hopes on the Comstock Act, a series of laws enacted in 1873 that prohibit the shipment of ‘every article or thing designed, adapted or intended for producing abortion.’ The law was essentially unenforceable during the Roe era, but a federal judge in Texas ruled in 2023 that the Comstock Act prohibits the shipment of the two drugs used in more than half of all abortions today.”

“Republican presidential candidates have been under pressure from prominent anti-abortion organizations to back a federal ban. … Enforcing the Comstock Act could make it much easier for a future GOP administration — likely Trump’s — to severely restrict abortion without lawmakers.”

“The Washington Post reported that the former president was interested in ‘Washington’s role’ in limiting abortion — meaning that anti-abortion groups’ cries may not be falling on deaf ears. … A former Trump administration official told NOTUS that when it comes to Comstock, it’s possible Trump would pledge to enforce it if it meant he’d get endorsements.”

“Project 2025, the presidential transition plan backed by many of Trump’s conservative allies and embraced by other Republicans, calls for Comstock’s enforcement. … Among the actions that the project considers a priority during this period, Chretien said, is enforcing Comstock.”

“Conservatives and Republicans argue the Comstock Act not only prohibits health providers from mailing abortion pills to patients, but also bars drug manufacturers from mailing them to doctors’ offices — and they believe the Food and Drug Administration should have never approved mifepristone to terminate pregnancies. … Interpreting Comstock that way would effectively ban abortion pills nationwide — even in states that protect abortion rights. … The inability to mail devices would lead to a full ban because ‘there are no abortions that take place in the United States without an item that was sent in the mail,’ said Mary Ziegler, a professor of law at the University of California, Davis, who specializes in abortion issues.”

“Some anti-abortion advocates are looking at more innovative ways to bring back the Comstock Act, like invoking the laws in local ordinance restrictions and legal battles. … Enforcing Comstock could potentially cross a line that most conservatives have sought to avoid since Dobbs: going after the patients.”

“Support for a total abortion ban is only at about 10%, with most Americans believing it should be legal in at least some circumstances, highlighting how a federal abortion ban would be overwhelmingly unpopular.”

REMINDER: MAGA Republicans’ extreme anti-abortion agenda is overwhelmingly unpopular with voters.

USA Today: “Americans overwhelmingly oppose the next goal of many anti-abortion activists, to enact a federal law banning abortion nationwide. By 80%-14%, those surveyed opposed that idea, including 65% of Republicans and 83% of independents.”

Axios: “Most Americans support abortion access one year after Roe v. Wade: poll”

CNN: “A 64% majority of US adults say they disapprove of last year’s Supreme Court ruling that women do not have a constitutional right to an abortion, with half strongly disapproving – an assessment that’s almost entirely unchanged from CNN’s poll last July in the immediate wake of the decision.”

Donald Trump supports a national abortion ban and has a yearslong extreme anti-abortion record. 

Trump: “There of course remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life. And it’s very important.” 

Trump on if he would sign a six-week national abortion ban: “I’m looking at all [options].”

Trump: “We’ll pick something that’s going to be very, very good for pro-life … I’m going to be in there pushing.”

Trump: “There has to be some form of punishment [for women who have abortions].”

The Hill: “The Trump administration formally backed a House bill Monday that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. … It would make it a crime to perform or attempt an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with the possibility of a fine, up to five years in prison or both.”

Trump is demanding credit for his role in overturning Roe v. Wade and the ensuing cruel abortion bans that MAGA Republicans have passed around the country.

Rolling Stone: “Trump Claims Credit for All Abortion Bans”

Trump: “For 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I’m proud to have done it. … Nobody else was going to get that done but me, and we did it, and we did something that was a miracle.”

Trump: “After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the ‘shock’ of everyone … Without me there would be no 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to. Without me the pro Life movement would have just kept losing. Thank you President TRUMP!!!”

Rolling Stone: “Trump Says He’s ‘Proud’ to Have ‘Terminated’ Abortion Rights”

FWIW: “This week, we found more evidence that the Trump campaign has no interest in ‘moderating’ on the issue of abortion. On Monday, his team began running new Facebook video ads targeting voters in Iowa, referring to Trump as ‘THE MOST Pro-Life President in history.’”

Trump: “I’m the one that got rid of Roe v. Wade, and everybody said that was an impossible thing to do. I put on three Supreme Court justices. Very few people have had that privilege or honor.”

Trump: “Getting rid of Roe v. Wade was an incredible thing for pro-life because it gave pro-life something to negotiate with. Pro-life had absolutely nothing, being stuck in Roe v. Wade, to negotiate with. … And look, everybody that was president wanted to get rid and tried to get rid of Roe v. Wade … For fifty years, this has been going on. I was able to do it, and I was very honored to do it.”

Nikki Haley has said she would sign any national abortion ban that landed on her desk and has also pledged her support for extreme abortion bans before many women know they’re pregnant. 

Kirsten Welker: “Would you support a 15-week federal limit?”

Haley: “I would support anything that would pass.”

Haley: “Whatever we can get 60 Senate votes on, isn’t that better than what we have now? And if it’s– if it’s six weeks, that’s great. If it’s 15 weeks, that’s great.” 

Fox News: “Nikki Haley, 2024 Republican candidate, vows to sign federal abortion ban if elected president”

Haley: “Yes of course I would sign [a federal ban].”

New York Times: “Nikki Haley Says She Would Have Signed Six-Week Abortion Ban as Governor”

Bob Vander Plaats: “If you were governor of South Carolina and that came to your desk, would you sign the heartbeat bill?”

Haley: “Yes.”

Haley: “If the people decided they wanted a six-week abortion bill, would you go along with it? Of course.”

Haley is even running ads bragging about her yearslong anti-abortion record of supporting efforts to rip away women’s freedoms.

Haley ad: “Most abortions after 20 weeks are now illegal in South Carolina after Republican Governor Nikki Haley signed a bill into law Wednesday.”

NBC News: “Nikki Haley’s history on abortion policy includes backing strict bans in S.C.”

Politico: “Haley, who ‘often clashed with members of her party because she labeled them insufficiently conservative’ on abortion,

• ‘co-sponsored legislation in 2009 mandating a 24-hour waiting period between a woman’s abortion consultation and the procedure itself’
• ‘voted to end abortion coverage for victims of rape and incest in the state health plan for employees’
• ‘signed the most conservative abortion bill South Carolina Republicans were able to pass through both chambers at the time,’ and the law did not include exceptions for rape and incest.”

Ron DeSantis has promised to sign a national abortion ban.

New York Times: “DeSantis Says He Would Sign a 15-Week Abortion Ban as President”

ABC News: “In an easily missed moment during Wednesday night’s chaotic GOP presidential primary debate, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would sign a federal 15-week abortion ban.”

Radio Iowa: “On Saturday at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event, you said as president, you would support abortion restrictions at the state and the federal level. Would you sign the nationwide 15-week ban that the Faith and Freedom Coalition supports?”

DeSantis: “So I’ve said from the beginning of this, as president, you put pro-life legislation on my desk, I’m going to look favorably and support the legislation.”

DeSantis: “As president, I’m going to welcome pro-life policies across the board at both [state and federal] levels.”

Tucker Carlson: “You signed a ban on abortion after six weeks in Florida. Would you do the same as president, nationally?”

DeSantis: “Well, I’m very proud to say Kim Reynolds is here and she signed a great heartbeat bill today. We were able to do that in Florida. We had a lot of opposition to that. I’m proud to have been a pro-life governor and I will be a pro life-president, so of course I want to sign pro-life legislation.”

DeSantis: “Dobbs returned the issue to the elected representatives of the people. And so I think that there’s a role for both the federal and the states.”

DeSantis: “I’m a pro-life governor. I’ve signed pro-life legislation. I’ll be a pro-life president. … Of course, there’ll be executive actions.”

DeSantis last year signed an extremely unpopular law banning abortion in Florida before many women even know they’re pregnant.

NBC News: “Ron DeSantis quietly signs Florida’s 6-week abortion ban into law”

NBC News: “Recent polling finds the six-week abortion ban is not popular among Florida residents of either political party. A University of North Florida poll in March found 75% of 1,452 respondents said they either somewhat or strongly opposed the six-week ban. That included 61% of Republicans.”

DeSantis has also signed into law a different abortion ban — with no exceptions for rape or incest — that has created a horrifying reality for women in Florida.

CNN: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law on Thursday a Mississippi-style anti-abortion measure that bans the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy without exemptions for rape, incest or human trafficking.”

Orlando Weekly: “Middle school-aged incest victim was turned away from Florida abortion clinics under 15-week ban”

Washington Post: “Two friends were denied care after Florida banned abortion. One almost died.”
CNN: “Florida law allows abortions after 15 weeks if two doctors confirm the diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality in writing, but doctors in Florida and states with similar laws have been hesitant to terminate such pregnancies for fear someone will question whether the abnormality was truly fatal. The penalties for violating the law are severe: Doctors can go to prison and face heavy fines and legal fees.”