{"id":1031855,"date":"2024-05-16T15:52:07","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T15:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1031855"},"modified":"2024-05-23T19:54:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T19:54:49","slug":"%f0%9f%9a%a8new-rfk-jr-s-running-mate-reaffirmed-he-can-never-be-trusted-to-protect-reproductive-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/%f0%9f%9a%a8new-rfk-jr-s-running-mate-reaffirmed-he-can-never-be-trusted-to-protect-reproductive-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udea8NEW: RFK Jr.\u2019s Running Mate Reaffirmed He Can NEVER Be Trusted to Protect Reproductive Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to RFK Jr.\u2019s running mate Nicole Shanahan <\/em>saying<\/em><\/a> abortion policy should be left up to the states, <\/em>DNC Communications Adviser Lis Smith released the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a new interview, Nicole Shanahan proves that RFK Jr. cannot be trusted to stand up for reproductive freedom. RFK Jr. has said that he would sign a national abortion ban and repeatedly dismissed the importance of abortion as an issue. Now Shanahan is embracing kicking abortion to the states \u2013 an endorsement of extreme and nightmarish laws that have denied women lifesaving treatment in emergency rooms and punished them for needing reproductive care. Once again, the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket is showing that, like Donald Trump, they won\u2019t stand up for America\u2019s women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW: When it comes to women\u2019s reproductive freedom, Shanahan believes in \u201ckicking it down to the states\u201d \u2014 despite the slew of extreme state abortion bans in place across the country. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviewer<\/a>: \u201cYeah, so I guess a final question on abortion. Do you believe that it should be left up to the state, like a statewide issue?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shanahan: \u201cYou know, that’s really interesting because kicking it down to the states does give it closer access to the communities. <\/strong>And my understanding is that, and this this is what the medical freedom community believes as well, is that the communities know the answers to this question, right? The communities know how to self-organize. Having the federal government dictate anything is always going to be problematic, is always going to feel very totalitarian, especially as it relates to something as personal as our bodies. So it’s not the worst idea to kick it down to the state or even a local level. <\/strong>And, you know, historically states have had legislation, state-level of legislation about abortion, on issues of abortion. And so historically, there’s precedent for it. So, you know, either way, I think that the trend towards, you know, states making these decisions is good. <\/strong>The thing that makes me worried in those instances is it becoming again over-politicized for election reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKicking it down to the states\u201d has led to dangerous abortion bans from Alabama to North Dakota, putting women\u2019s lives at risk and ripping away access to care.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alabama<\/a>: \u201cAbortions became almost entirely illegal in Alabama on June 24. A 2019 state abortion ban took effect making it a felony to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arizona<\/a>: \u201cArizona Supreme Court rules a near-total abortion ban from 1864 is enforceable\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas<\/a>: \u201cArkansas bans nearly all abortions after Roe v. Wade overturned\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Florida<\/a>: \u201cFlorida\u2019s new restrictions will chip away at the little abortion access left in the South\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kentucky<\/a>: \u201cAbortion is banned in almost all circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louisiana<\/a>: \u201cLouisiana abortion ban preserved after lawmakers kill bill to call public vote\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Missouri<\/a>: \u201cRepublicans block attempt to add rape, incest exemptions to Missouri\u2019s abortion ban\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Carolina<\/a>: \u201cNorth Carolina\u2019s abortion law may make traveling to end a pregnancy impossible for some in the South\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Dakota<\/a>: \u201cNorth Dakota court keeps strict abortion ban in place even in cases of medical emergencies\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oklahoma<\/a>: \u201cAbortion is banned in almost all circumstances.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Carolina<\/a>: \u201cSouth Carolina\u2019s new all-male highest court reverses course on abortion, upholding strict 6-week ban\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Dakota<\/a>: \u201cAbortions now illegal in South Dakota following Supreme Court\u2019s ruling\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tennessee<\/a>: \u201cAmid uncertainty and anger, Tennessee\u2019s abortion ban takes effect\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas<\/a>: \u201cTexas passes law banning abortion after six weeks\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wisconsin<\/a>: \u201cWisconsin Republicans approve bill banning abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State abortion bans are dangerous, extreme, and wildly unpopular with the American people. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 19th News<\/a>: \u201cAbortion bans are unpopular. Republicans are passing them anyway\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith abortion bans becoming increasingly unpopular, Republican-led statehouses are walking a delicate line: Trying to advance bills that would restrict access to the procedure without drawing attention, circumventing normal processes to cram new policies through as legislative sessions come to a close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s not forget RFK Jr. has said he would sign a national abortion ban if elected, and has constantly tried to hide from his abortion extremism. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBC News<\/a>: \u201cRFK Jr. says he\u2019d sign a federal ban on abortions after three months of pregnancy\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/a>: \u201cSpeaking to NBC from the Iowa State Fair, Kennedy said, \u2018I believe a decision to abort a child should be up to the women during the first three months of life,\u2019 but added: \u2018Once a child is viable, outside the womb, I think then the state has an interest in protecting the child.\u2019 He said he would sign a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks or 21 weeks of pregnancy if he were elected president.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cRFK Jr. rarely mentions abortion \u2014 and sends mixed signals when he does\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKennedy has avoided taking a concrete stance<\/strong> on the nation\u2019s patchwork of abortion bans and U.S. House Republicans\u2019 efforts to pass federal restrictions, calling abortion a \u2018culture war issue\u2019 used to divide people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKennedy mentioned abortion just twice in the 11 speeches and campaign events that appear on his YouTube page. <\/strong>He mentioned the word \u2018vaccine\u2019 10 times. On X, he has mentioned the word \u2018abortion\u2019 five times since the start of last year. He posted the word \u2018vaccine\u2019 64 times in the same period.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter The Post inquired about Kennedy\u2019s abortion position, the campaign added an abortion policy page to its website, proposing \u2018a massive subsidized daycare initiative\u2019 paid for by funds Kennedy would reroute from Ukraine war aid. The page doesn\u2019t provide any more information about how Kennedy would respond to abortion bans in states.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to RFK Jr.\u2019s running mate Nicole Shanahan saying abortion policy should be left up to the states, DNC Communications Adviser Lis Smith released the following statement: \u201cIn a new interview, Nicole Shanahan proves that RFK Jr. cannot be trusted to stand up for reproductive freedom. RFK Jr. has said that he would sign […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1031855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\ud83d\udea8NEW: RFK Jr.\u2019s Running Mate Reaffirmed He Can NEVER Be Trusted to Protect Reproductive Freedom - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/\ud83d\udea8new-rfk-jr-s-running-mate-reaffirmed-he-can-never-be-trusted-to-protect-reproductive-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-16T15:52:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-23T19:54:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/image_e21185.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/%f0%9f%9a%a8new-rfk-jr-s-running-mate-reaffirmed-he-can-never-be-trusted-to-protect-reproductive-freedom\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/%f0%9f%9a%a8new-rfk-jr-s-running-mate-reaffirmed-he-can-never-be-trusted-to-protect-reproductive-freedom\/\",\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8NEW: RFK Jr.\u2019s Running Mate Reaffirmed He Can NEVER Be Trusted to Protect Reproductive Freedom - 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