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It was nearly two years ago when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly condemned the ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 case that struck down a state law that restricted married couples’ access to birth control. The conservative jurist call for the decades-old decision to be “reconsidered.”
Around the same time, a variety of GOP lawmakers and candidates also eagerly rejected the Griswold precedent, leading House Democratic leaders — at the time, in the majority — to bring the Right to Contraception Act to the floor. The legislation, designed to codify the right to contraception nationwide, passed, but 195 House Republicans voted against it.
An awkward conversation soon followed: Does the contemporary Republican Party have a problem with birth control? That conversation appears likely to get quite a bit louder. Politico reported:
Former President Donald Trump said he’s “looking at” restrictions on contraception during an interview with a local TV station in Pittsburgh released Tuesday. While he didn’t provide any details, he told KDKA political analyst Jon Delano that he plans to share a policy on contraception “very shortly.”
The wording of the question couldn’t have been more straightforward: “Do you support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception?”
The presumptive GOP nominee could’ve very easily replied, “No, I don’t.” That’s not, however, how he replied.
“We’re looking at that, and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting,” Trump said. He went to describe his policy — the one he didn’t want to share for reasons he did not explain — as “smart.”
Pressed further on the possibility of some states banning forms of birth control, the former president wouldn’t answer directly, but claimed he and his team would release more information about his secret-for-now position “within a week or so.”
Right off the bat, it’s worth emphasizing that those who genuinely believe that Trump will unveil a detailed policy position “within a week or so” should probably lower their expectations. He’s been pulling this trick — or at least trying to pull this trick — for far too long and on far too many issues.
But even putting this aside, how serious is the threat that Trump might actually approve contraception restrictions if he’s returned to power? If recent history is any guide, his allies will be quick to argue that the Republican didn’t try to ban birth control in his first term, so Americans shouldn’t be too concerned about a possible second term.
That response, however, overlooks an important detail: Trump has no core beliefs of his own. If a GOP-led Congress approved new contraception restrictions, it’s folly to think he’d stand up to his allies.
What’s more, if red states — some of which have already weighed possible limits to birth control access — pursued similarly regressive policies, there’s no reason to believe Trump would lift a finger to intervene on the public’s behalf.
In other words, Trump’s position is highly relevant, especially as he keeps it a secret for reasons unknown.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, President Joe Biden’s campaign manager, recently argued that a Trump victory would put “contraception in jeopardy nationwide.” It’s awfully generous of the presumptive GOP nominee to help bolster Democratic arguments on the issue.
UPDATE (May 21, 2024, 2:44 p.m. ET): Trump published an item to his social media account this afternoon, claiming he opposes contraception restrictions. He did not explain his on-air response.