A day after former President Donald J. Trump dominated headlines with a statement declaring that abortion policies should be left to the states, the issue will continue to be at the forefront of the nation’s political conversation.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court will announce a decision in what could be a landmark case on abortion rights in that state. It will either uphold the state’s current 15-week ban, or revert to an 1864 law that would ban nearly all abortions.
The ruling could have a significant impact on elections in a battleground state. Supporters of a ballot measure on abortion are likely to succeed in putting to voters a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right to an abortion before viability, or at about 24 weeks. Democrats are counting on the measure to give them an advantage in November’s elections.
Mr. Trump’s announcement on Monday came after months of mixed signals on abortion and remained low on specifics — for example, he skirted the question of whether he would sign a federal abortion ban if he was elected to a second term. And while he asserted that Republicans were “now free” to focus on more politically favorable issues, his statement revealed fault lines within his party and provoked attacks from President Biden and other Democrats.
He had suggested that he would back a 15-week federal ban on abortion, and Republicans who support a national ban seized on the seeming reversal. Former Vice President Mike Pence called the statement a “slap in the face.” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the leading anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said she was “deeply disappointed.” And Senator Lindsey Graham said that he disagreed with Mr. Trump, and that he would continue to push for a national ban.
The former president took to social media in hopes of quelling that dissent. He responded in a fiery stream of posts on Truth Social, singling out Ms. Dannenfelser and Mr. Graham as he attacked conservative “hardliners” who he said were “making it impossible” for Republicans to win elections. Other Republicans in Congress, even those who had supported legislation for a national ban, soon fell in line behind the former president.
President Biden pounced on Mr. Trump’s announcement, particularly his boast that he was “proudly the person responsible” for ending the constitutional right to abortion by having appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Mr. Biden’s campaign set off a barrage of attacks against Mr. Trump’s new abortion stance. It released a searing ad that blamed Mr. Trump for the near-death of a Texas woman who was denied an abortion.
“Donald Trump just endorsed every single state ban on reproductive care nationwide,” Mr. Biden said in another video posted on social media, adding, “Donald Trump is the reason Roe v. Wade was ended.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Biden will deliver a speech on child care and family medical care in Washington. A pretaped interview with the president will air on Univision on Tuesday evening.
