Sen. Smith slams Trump's role in overturning Roe, introduces bill

ST. PAUL — It's been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion, and Democrats are not going to let voters forget it.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., held a press conference at the state DFL headquarters Saturday to highlight former President Donald Trump's role in that decision and rally voters for the Biden-Harris campaign.

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The overturning of Roe v. Wade came after the court took a sharp conservative shift during Trump's administration when he appointed a number of pro-life justices, tipping the balance of the bench to the right. Since then, Democrats have used the issue to turn out voters for President Joe Biden while introducing legislation to highlight their colleagues across the aisle's stances on reproductive care.

More: Abortion laws are on the books but still on voters' minds in these states

What is the Comstock Act?

Last week, Smith introduced the Stop Comstock Act, a bill that would repeal a dormant, Victorian-era law that could be used to ban the mailing of abortion-related materials.

"[Congressional Republicans] have a plan to use (the Comstock Act) to ban medication abortions and potentially all abortions without ever having a vote of Congress, without ever having taken any congressional action," Smith said at the press conference.

The 150-year-old law bans the mailing of "obscene matter," and Democrats fear it could be used by a future conservative administration to prohibit the delivery of abortion medication like mifepristone, or it could possibly affect procedures like miscarriage management.

Smith understands their might not be support for the bill in the 118th Congress. But that isn't stopping her from bringing attention to what further restrictions could be placed on women.

"You introduce legislation, and then you use it as a way of organizing support, and then by organizing support, that's how you make change in a democracy," she told the St. Cloud Times. "That's what I'm working on."

Though Trump has gone back on his previous stances on abortion and said abortion should be up to the states, nor has he commented publicly on the zombie law, Democrats aren't willing to make a bet he won't change his mind.

More: Elections 2024: Will Minnesota be a battleground state in November?

Smith, 66, said that Minnesotans aren't falling for Trump's mild approach to the large looming issue of abortion.

"He's trying to soften his image on this," she said. "But no woman in this country is going to be conned by that; nobody thinks a second Donald Trump presidency is going to be better for reproductive freedom and abortion care access."

What happened in Minnesota after Roe fell?

Smith was joined by Planned Parenthood North Central States CEO Ruth Richardson who shared her own abortion story.

"My support for reproductive care is unrelenting," Richardson said during the press conference. "I'm in this fight because in no world should my daughter Taylor and my granddaughter Trinity have less rights than what I grew up with."

Since the almost 40-year precedent was overturned, a swath of states made moves to ban the procedure outright. Others, like Minnesota, worked fast to further protect reproductive care by enshrining the right via the legislature.

Minnesota garnered national attention for its protective policies and status as a sanctuary state for reproductive care. In March, Vice President Kamala Harris made a visit to the state's Capitol where she stopped by an abortion clinic and highlighted the DFL trifectas achievements.

"The work we did here in Minnesota in 2023," Richardson said, "there is hope we can do that nationally as well."

Richardson, a former Minnesota representative, highlighted the high number of maternal deaths and complications in states where there are bans and restrictions that are disproportionately affecting Black women.

Despite the North Star state enjoying multiple layers of reproductive protections, Smith urged Minnesotans during the press conference that their rights are at stake in November.

"This is an opportunity for you to make sure that nobody in MAGA Donald Trump world will ever again underestimate the power of women to have a say not only in their lives but in the lives of everybody in this country," she said.

"That is what is at stake in this election."

— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA Today. You can reach her at swoodward@gannett.com, on X @woodyreports, or on Threads @samjowoody.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Sen. Smith targets Trump two years after Dobbs, takes on zombie bill