(LifeSiteNews) — A new campaign ad approved by the Biden administration attributes the overturning of Roe v. Wade to former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has frequently touted the role of his judicial picks in reversing the federal “right” to abortion. The ad signals that abortion will continue to be a major issue in the upcoming battle for the White House between Trump and Joe Biden this year, even as Trump has disappointed pro-lifers with his rejection of a nationwide ban and support for abortion exceptions.
In a minute-long campaign ad posted to Biden’s official YouTube channel Sunday, OB-GYN Dr. Austin Dennard of Dallas said Texas law in the wake of the overthrow of Roe v. Wade prohibited her from ending the life of her baby who had been diagnosed with a terminal condition.
The mother of three said she “never thought that I would need an abortion for a planned pregnancy, but I did.”
“Two years ago, I became pregnant with a baby I desperately wanted,” Dennard said. “At a routine ultrasound, I learned that the fetus would have a fatal condition and that there was absolutely no chance of survival.”
Dennard’s baby had been diagnosed with anencephaly, a condition in which a baby’s head and brain do not fully develop in utero. The condition reportedly has a near 100% fatality rate within the first year of a diagnosed baby’s life, though most tragically die within days or weeks of birth. Dennard traveled out of state to abort her baby due to Texas’ robust laws protecting the lives of unborn babies with only very narrow exceptions (a December ruling, however, has temporarily permitted abortions in cases of fatal fetal conditions).
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Pro-lifers point out that the deliberate killing of a preborn baby is morally unjustifiable and never medically necessary, even if the baby is likely to pass away shortly after birth. Moreover, babies born with fatal conditions can be given “hospice” care and allowed to rest in their mother’s arms before passing away of natural causes, while abortion violently ends the life of the baby before he or she has a chance even to breathe or be held. Nevertheless, abortion is often touted as the best or only solution to a fatal fetal diagnosis, a reality the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute has condemned, pointing out that “[a]bortion doesn’t resolve cases where a life-limiting condition exists; it destroys one of the patients.”
Moreover, fetal diagnoses are not always accurate or certain, studies show. Writing for USA Today, board-certified OB-GYN Christina Francis pointed out that “about 9% of adverse fetal diagnoses on ultrasounds turn out to be wrong, and that is only among the babies who are given the opportunity to continue living.”
“In some cases, depending on the method, false positives for fetal abnormalities are as high as 50%,” she said.
Anecdotal stories also abound of mothers being encouraged to consider abortion for their supposedly disabled babies who are later born perfectly healthy, or whose conditions turn out to be treatable after their mothers reject the advice. Others who only have their children for hours or days after birth express joy and gratitude at being able at least to meet their babies and allow them to pass away peacefully rather than be poisoned and killed in the womb.
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Despite the pro-life witness of mothers who have borne babies with serious and even fatal complications, Dr. Dennard said in the Biden campaign that she should have been given the “choice” in Texas to get an abortion rather than be “forced to carry that pregnancy,” a potential outcome she blamed squarely on “Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade.”
“We need leaders that will protect our rights and not take them away, and that’s Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” she said.
Trump has repeatedly touted his involvement in the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, which ended the federal “right” to abortion and allowed a slew of Republican-led states to enact laws protecting preborn babies. Trump had appointed three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, following recommendations provided by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. All three Trump appointees, along with justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and John Roberts, made up a six-judge majority in the decision to overthrow Roe.
In recent months, however, Trump has seemingly distanced himself from full-throated support of pro-life cause, continuing to tout his role in the overthrow of Roe even while condemning Florida’s heartbeat bill and repeatedly affirming that he favors abortion ban exceptions (i.e., allowances for abortion in cases of rape, incest, or ostensibly to save the life of the mother). He has also refused to endorse a federal law banning abortion nationwide.
Despite Trump’s remarks backing away from a fully pro-life position, his position continues to stand in stark contrast to that of the Biden administration, which has condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, pushed for increased access to abortion, and loosened restrictions on chemical abortion drugs.
On Monday, Biden met with his White House Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access to discuss “new actions” on the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Vice President Harris simultaneously announced the launch of a “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour to highlight the left-wing administration’s pushback against pro-life legislation and new efforts to ensure that women can continue getting abortions in the U.S.
In a fact sheet, the Biden administration described new moves to make sure “that women have access to contraception” and force employers to pay for contraception. It’s also working to advance “education” of patients and healthcare providers on ensuring “access to emergency medical care required under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). The Administration” (the Biden administration is attempting to use the statute to force emergency room doctors to perform abortions under certain circumstances). The fact sheet also highlights a renewed push “to support safe access to legal medication abortion.”