In response to new reporting from NBC that highlights more than half of Black women of reproductive age across the United States now have little to no access to abortion care in the post-Roe America that Donald Trump created, DNC Director of Outreach Communications Tracy King released the following statement: 

“Because Donald Trump orchestrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, more than half of Black women of reproductive age now live in states with abortion bans in effect or with threats to abortion access. For two years, Trump’s MAGA minions nationwide have waged relentless attacks on reproductive health care – from dangerous, extreme abortion bans and adding to the already significant disproportionate hardship and disparities Black women face – and it won’t stop there. Trump and his MAGA allies want to take his extremist policies further if elected – banning abortion nationwide, gutting Medicaid, and ripping away the ACA, further putting Black women at grave risk and threatening to deepen the Black maternal health crisis. Meanwhile, President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to building an equitable health care system that upholds and enhances access to affordable, high-quality health care for all. This administration has upheld its promise to prioritize the health and rights of Black women and continues to deliver for Black women nationwide. The choice could not be clearer in this election – only President Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to fight to protect and expand access to health care for Black women.” 

NBC News: More than half of Black women ages 15-49 live with little to no abortion access
[Char Adams, 4/15/24]

• Nearly 7 million of the country’s 11.8 million Black women of reproductive age live in states with abortion restrictions or plans to implement them, according to a new report from a pair of reproductive rights organizations. 

• According to the report, 57% of Black women ages 15 to 49 (which the organizations consider reproductive age) live in states with bans or threats to abortion access, which have increased in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

• The report also found that 2.7 million of the Black women of reproductive age living in such states are already “economically insecure” and that 1.4 million of them work in service jobs — which are less likely to provide resources like paid sick days, flexible scheduling and more. They include Black women with disabilities, multiracial Black women, veterans and immigrants. 

• “In addition to abortion bans, they’re also concerned about things like economic opportunity and cost of living, racial justice, which are directly tied to the abortion bans,” Frye said.

• About 43% of Black women of childbearing age living in states with abortion restrictions or where abortion is under threat are in Texas, Florida and Georgia, three states with some of the toughest laws, according to the report.

• Nearly 50% of Black women ages 18 to 44 living in states that restrict abortion have spent the last two years since the Supreme Court’s decision weighing difficult options and asking tough questions, according to the report: “Will I live through childbirth if I get pregnant?” “Will I be arrested if I miscarry or need an abortion?” “Should I give up on having children altogether?”

• […] Reproductive justice advocates have pointed out the disproportionate impacts of limited abortion access on Black people. Black people seek abortion care at higher rates, have less access to family planning services and endure poor health, education and economic outcomes as a result, according to the report. 

President Biden has championed affordable and accessible health care for all and has fought to make this a reality for every American, from his vital role in passing the ACA to now.  

CNN: “Obamacare sign-ups hit record 21.3 million as Biden pushes his efforts to lower health care costs”

“Nearly 5 million more people signed up for Obamacare policies for this year compared with last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, said Wednesday. Notably, about a quarter of people selecting plans were new consumers.”

Hill: “Biden touts Affordable Care Act enrollment spike” 

“The White House is reporting strong enrollment numbers through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) one week after enrollment began, with 300,000 new customers signing up for plans already.”

Washington Post: “ACA linked to reduced racial disparities, earlier diagnosis and treatment in cancer care”

AARP: “ACA Has Led to More African Americans Getting Health Insurance

“The number of Black Americans under age 65 without health insurance has dropped by 40 percent since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“In 2011 about 7.1 million African Americans lacked coverage, but by 2019 that number had dropped to 4.4 million, according to the report by researchers in HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).”

White House Fact Sheet: “Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the Administration has announced 10 prescription drugs for which Medicare will negotiate prices directly with participating manufacturers. … Individuals with Medicare can now receive certain vaccines for free under the President’s lower cost prescription drug law, which previously would have cost an average of $70 in out-of-pocket costs. The Inflation Reduction Act also capped the cost of insulin at $35 per product per month for almost four million seniors and others on Medicare with diabetes, which can lead to hundreds of dollars in savings for a month’s supply.”

Associated Press: “Older Americans to pay less for some drug treatments as drugmakers penalized for big price jumps”

“The White House unveiled a list of 48 drugs — from chemotherapy treatments to growth hormones used to treat endocrine disorders — whose prices increased faster than the rate of inflation this year. Under a new law, drugmakers will have to pay rebates to the federal government because of those price increases. The money will be used to lower the price Medicare enrollees pay on the drugs early next year.”

The Biden-Harris administration is fighting to protect reproductive health care for all Americans.

Politico: “Biden’s top priority for a second term: Abortion rights”

ABC News: “Biden administration announces new steps to protect contraceptives, abortion medication on Roe anniversary” 

“It’s the latest attempt by the federal government to preserve abortion access and protect reproductive health care since the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 to end federal protections for abortion rights…

“To strengthen contraception access, the administration said it will implement several measures, including federal agencies issuing new guidance to ‘clarify standards’ and make sure Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive medications are available for free under the Affordable Care Act.”

White House Fact Sheet: “Since 2021, funding to reduce maternal mortality has grown by over $190 million, demonstrating the Administration’s commitment to addressing needs in this area. The Budget continues this progress by including $376 million, an increase of $82 million above the 2023 enacted level to support the ongoing implementation of the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, launched by the Vice President, to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates, and address the highest rates of perinatal health disparities. 

“The Budget expands Medicaid maternal health support services during the pregnancy and post-partum period by incentivizing States to reimburse a broad range of providers including doulas, community health workers, peer support initiatives, and nurse home visiting programs.”

Meanwhile, Black women are disproportionately bearing the brunt of Trump’s actions to rip away abortion rights – and he wants to go even further with a national abortion ban in a second term. 

Texas Tribune: “Facing higher teen pregnancy and maternal mortality rates, Black women will largely bear the brunt of abortion limits”

Vox: “The United States is now a country without a legal right to an abortion. In this new reality, Black women will suffer the most.

“Black women are more likely to live in areas where it’s harder to access contraception…

“For centuries, Black women have fought for autonomy over their bodies, against government-sanctioned abuse and abuse from intimate partners. The end of a constitutional right to legal abortion makes the fight harder.”

REMINDER: Trump has said he’d sign a national abortion ban if elected to a second term and backed one as president.

Associated Press: “Trump says he will support national ban on abortions around 15 weeks of pregnancy”

Rolling Stone: “Trump Wants to Ban Abortion Nationwide: Report”

New York Times: “Trump Privately Expresses Support for a 16-Week Abortion Ban”

Rolling Stone: “Trump Floats National Abortion Ban After Claiming He’s ‘On the Side of Women’”

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.”

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 proudly taking credit for extreme abortion bans throughout the country.

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 Claims Credit for All Abortion Bans”

Business Insider: “Trump boasts he’s ‘proud’ about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, the issue that has become ballot-box poison for Republicans”

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

Trump campaign radio ad: “And Trump nominated conservative judges, leading to Roe v. Wade being overturned.”

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.”