Harris criticizes Trump for latest comments on states monitoring pregnant women

Vice President Harris, in a video first obtained by The Hill, criticized former President Trump for recent comments to a Pennsylvania television station in which he said states should decide whether to monitor pregnant women.

“You have to look at what Donald Trump just said about monitoring women,” Harris said in the campaign video.

The video then presents a clip from the recent interview with WGALan NBC affiliate based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in which he is asked about ads saying he would support a state-level abortion ban that monitors a woman’s pregnancy.

“Well, that would be up to the states. Again, they will make a decision on how they do that,” Trump said in the interview.

Harris blamed Trump for the demise of Roe v. Wade. Wade, citing the appointment of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

“And he believes states can monitor women so they can enforce Trump’s abortion bans,” Harris added. “Under Trump, it is apparently fair game for states to monitor women. Whereas Joe Biden and I believe the government should never come between a woman and her doctor.”

Harris has emerged as the White House and Biden campaign’s top messenger on the issue of abortion as Republican-led states enact laws restricting access to the procedure.

Trump has been adamant that states should be left to decide their own abortion policies, whether through legislation or ballot measures. He also attacked Democrats for being too “radical” on this issue.

In an interview with Time magazine published in late April, Trump said it should be left up to each state to decide whether to monitor women’s pregnancies or prosecute those who have an illegal abortion. He did not say whether he would veto a national abortion ban if one came to his desk, saying that would not be necessary because states set their own laws.

In a subsequent post on Truth Social, Trump backtracked and stated that he never said that some states “may choose to monitor women’s pregnancies to possibly prosecute for violating any abortion bans.”

“Everything is working, it will never go back to the Federal Government and our country will soon begin to unite on this long controversial issue,” Trump wrote in the May 5 post. “At the same time, no one wants to see abortion in the 7th, 8th or 9th month or execution after birth, as some states, as the former Democratic governor of Virginia said, were allowed. Listen to your heart, but common sense should also apply. Remember, politicians must win elections too!”

A New York Times survey published Monday highlighted that abortion is one of Trump’s biggest political vulnerabilities, even as he leads President Biden in most key battleground states.

The poll found that voters prefer Biden’s handling of abortion over Trump by an 11-point margin, 49% to 38%. And the poll found that 64% of voters in swing states said abortion should always or mostly be legal.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story