President Biden’s campaign on Thursday launched a seven-figure ad buy in Arizona, focusing on abortion on as the state grapples with the fallout from a state Supreme Court decision earlier this week that enabled an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions.
The Biden campaign has sought to link former President Donald Trump to near-total abortion bans since Trump appointed three conservative judges who were instrumental in the 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Trump has touted his role in the effort to “kill” Roe v. Wade, although he has sought to distance himself from the Arizona decision.
“Because of Donald Trump, millions of women lost the fundamental freedom to control their own bodies,” Mr. Biden says direct to camera in the ad. “And now, women’s lives are in danger because of that. The question is, if Donald Trump gets back in power, what freedom will you lose next? Your body and your decisions belong to you, not the government, not Donald Trump. I will fight like hell to get your freedom back.”
The ad, dubbed “Power Back,” will run this month on targeted television programs, including Abbott Elementary, Survivor, Grey’s Anatomy, American Idol, The Voice, and SNL. The campaign said it’s particularly seeking to target younger female and Latino residents.
Alex Brandon / AP
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is also launching a billboard campaign across the Tempe and Phoenix metro areas, in both English and Spanish, looking to place blame on Trump for the state’s abortion ban.
Arizona has been the focus of the Biden-Harris campaign this week after the state’s Supreme Court upheld on Tuesday a 160-year-old total ban on abortions. The 1864 ban has exceptions only to save the life of the mother, although none for rape and incest. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Tucson on Friday as part of the campaign’s focus on reproductive rights.
Before Tuesday’s ruling, Trump had issued a video statement saying he thought abortion laws should be left to the states. On Wednesday, he said he thought the Arizona Supreme Court went too far.
“Yeah, they did,” Trump told reporters Wednesday, asked if the court’s judges went too far. “That’ll be straightened out, and as you know it’s all about states’ rights.”
So far, Republicans in the state have blocked efforts to overturn the ban, although several prominent Arizona Republicans have slammed the ruling, including GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, has said she will “not prosecute anyone under this draconian law,” which allows felony charges for anyone who performs an abortion procedure or helps a woman access one. The law includes no exceptions for rape or incest.