Trump ‘will pass a national abortion ban’: AOC urges Nevadans to elect Biden

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Nevadans to vote for President Joe Biden in November and warned that former President Donald Trump would be a danger to abortion access if elected.

The New York congresswoman warned rally attendees that Trump would threaten reproductive care and said the former president was to blame for the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision at an event Thursday at the Fremont Country Club.

“If he wins in November, you better believe Donald Trump and a Republican Congress will pass a nationwide abortion ban,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “That enough is enormous reason why it is crucial that we reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the former president has “long been consistent” in supporting states’ right to make decisions on abortion.

“Instead of grandstanding in Las Vegas on an issue that has already been decided by Nevada voters, Democrats should turn to the real issues caused by failed Joe Biden,” said Republican National Committee Nevada spokesperson Halee Dobbins.

Trump has boasted that his Supreme Court selections paved the way for the landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade, but he has said he would support the availability of in vitro fertilization, and when asked about a possible nationwide ban on abortions, he said decisions on abortion rules should be left to the states.

Ocasio-Cortez said the November election is “the next battleground” and urged those in attendance to also support Sen. Jacky Rosen.

The congresswoman shared with the crowd a time when she believed she had become pregnant as the result of a sexual assault. Despite finding out she wasn’t pregnant after taking a test, Ocasio-Cortez said she vowed from that day she would “stand up for reproductive freedom and justice for all people.”

Ocasio-Cortez also participated in two other events Thursday in Las Vegas, where she highlighted Biden’s efforts towards affordable housing. She also participated in a roundtable with local women who spoke about their experiences with abortion and reproductive care.

It’s not the first notable figure to visit Nevada to encourage voters to cast their ballots for Biden.

In late May, former police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, encouraged voters during a news conference in Las Vegas to support Biden and cast Donald Trump as a threat to democracy.

Biden visited the state in March to highlight a plan to invest in affordable housing. Vice President Kamala Harris has made at least four visits since the start of the year.

Trump made a visit to the state in early June ahead of the primary election day, encouraging supporters to vote for him in November and outlining his priorities if he was re-elected.

The event comes days before the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which leaves restrictions around abortions up to the states.

The state has existing protections for abortion, including a 1990 voter referendum that protects abortion in Nevada up to 24 weeks.

There are efforts to make those protections even stronger. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, a political action committee, is pushing for a ballot measure to enshrine the right to reproductive freedom in the Nevada Constitution.

The group said in May that it had enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on X.