While Trump tries to distance himself from unpopular bans, Republicans advocate medical abortion

This is an adapted excerpt from October 27 Velshi episode.

As Election Day approaches, Republicans are working hard to distance themselves, their party and their presidential candidate, from perhaps their most successful—and most unpopular—policy: overturning Roe v. Wade.

You may be hearing a lot of misdirection from the GOP – a lot of talk about how abortion has just been “devolved to the states” or about how the party believes in exceptions to bans. But just as we all see a parade of horror stories of women suffering and even dying because they are denied basic health care, Republicans are working on what is and always has been the ultimate goal of the anti-abortion movement: banning abortion. . abortions at the national level.

And that is why it is now more important than ever to ensure that they do not what they are say. Because what Republicans are doing now is laying the groundwork for a ruthless federal abortion ban.

Right now, three Republican attorneys general from Kansas, Idaho and Missouri are trying to revive a case challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. This is the same case that the Supreme Court rejected earlier this year due to lack of standing. In June, the court found that the original plaintiffs, a coalition of anti-abortion groups and doctors, failed to prove they suffered any harm from the drug’s approval more than 20 years ago.

Kansas, Idaho and Missouri were initially joined as parties to the lawsuit. This time, however, they are back as plaintiffs, arguing they have a case based on the harm they claim their state suffered as a result of the drug’s approval.

Kansas’ participation is especially surprising given that the state’s mostly Republican voters affirmed abortion rights in a 2022 referendum, making abortion legal there. But Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, is undeterred by this small detail of democracy and the expression of the people’s will, writing in a statement: “We are prosecuting this case to protect the women of Kansas.” Even though Kansas women have already expressed their support for abortion rights, Kobach appears to believe they voted incorrectly.

It’s important to know that these three Republican attorneys general are not filing in their states, where one would naturally expect the case to be heard. They also aren’t filing in Maryland, where the FDA is based, or in any state where the pill is still legally prescribed. Instead, they are continuing to pursue a case that was previously dismissed, hoping to return it to the same federal judge in Texas who halted the approval of mifepristone, a decision that was later overturned by the Supreme Court.

This is a blatant attempt to secure a favorable judge, and when you consider that a judge in Texas can ignore the will of Kansas voters, the move becomes even bolder.

“This is an overtly political ploy to bribe judges,” David S. Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University, told The New York Times. “If Missouri, Idaho and Kansas are truly affected by these pills, they should file a claim in Missouri, Idaho or Kansas. But they want to appear before Judge Kaczmarik, so they are trying to use a claim that was not legally valid in the first place, and this should not be allowed.”

Remember, these state attorneys general are re-opening this case on the grounds that their states are being harmed by the availability of abortion drugs, and one of the alleged harms they cite is that due to the widespread availability of the mifepristone pill, Terminating a pregnancy is not enough. teenage girls give birth. They argue that lowering teen pregnancy rates is robbing their states of future citizens and could even cost them House seats and federal funding.

I’m not making this up. According to the amended complaint:

The loss of potential population also leads to further trauma: the subsequent “decline in political representation” of states and the “loss of federal funds,” such as the potential “loss of a congressional seat or eligibility for less federal funding if their populations decline.” …

These are three Republican men who are essentially arguing that women and girls exist to produce more children for their states.

According to reproductive rights writer S. P. Rogers:

Idaho, Kansas and Missouri claim a legitimate, sovereign state interest in forced births – in teenage girls and women as breeders… It’s an argument that positions everyone capable of giving birth as broodmares – a scenario in which the state does not exist for the people, and the people for the state – and foreshadows the future demand for a ban on contraception.

This is a dark thing. Aside from how inhumane it is for women, basic logic suggests that the state is not “deprived” of funds when there are no additional citizens to serve. And here we are faced with arguments claiming that the state is interested in the most personal and intimate choice of a woman.

It was never about restoring states’ rights, despite Donald Trump’s claims. It’s about controlling women. Republicans won’t stop until abortion is banned everywhere, so the amended complaint centers on the Comstock Act, a long-defunct obscenity law that bans the mailing of items “intended to prevent conception or perform an abortion.” The 1873 law was passed before women could vote.

Although a 2022 DOJ memo said the law should not be interpreted to criminalize most abortion pill distributions, the amended complaint cites the outdated law in an attempt to overturn several FDA rules that expanded access to mifepristone. including lifting the ban on mifepristone. – Requiring a person to visit and allowing abortion pills to be sent by mail.

As more states began banning abortion after Dobbs, telehealth centers in blue states expanded to fill the gap and serve women in these hostile states. Today, most abortions are performed using medications that are typically prescribed and mailed by these telemedicine providers.

When Trump says he won’t ban abortion, it’s because conservatives are counting on the Comstock Act, which has never been officially repealed, to do its dirty work. Project 2025 explicitly calls for the revival of this law, which under a Republican administration would not only ban medication abortion, but also limit the supply used to perform abortions, making it nearly impossible for clinics in blue states to obtain the equipment needed to perform surgical abortions.

In other words, Comstock’s Law is effective ban on abortion. As Election Day approaches, understand that the GOP’s goal is to ban abortion completely and everywhere. And Republicans won’t stop trying, no matter how many women are hurt or how many may die, until they find a friendly court – or administration – to support their agenda.

Amel Ahmed And Allison Detzel contributed.