Clinton: Trump would 'turn back the clock' on abortion rights

Hillary Clinton attacked Donald Trump and fellow Republicans on Friday for trying to "reverse" the progress that women's advocates have made toward increasing access to abortion and contraception.

At a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event, Clinton at least twice mentioned Trump's comment earlier this year that he thought women who receive abortions should face "some form of punishment" if the practice becomes illegal. Trump later reversed his statement.


"When Donald Trump says 'Let’s make America great again,' that is code for 'Let’s take America backward,' back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some and not all," Clinton said. "Well, Donald, those days are over. We are not going to let Donald Trump or anyone else turn back the clock."

She said Trump wants to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade and to strip Planned Parenthood of funding. And Clinton said that even though Trump reversed his comment, he originally talked about punishment like it was "the most obvious thing in the world.”

“Anyone who wants to defund Planned Parenthood and wipe out safe, legal abortion has no idea what’s best for women,” she said. “And, after all, this is a man who has called women 'pigs,' 'dogs' and 'disgusting animals.' Kind of hard to imagine counting on him to respect our fundamental rights. When he says pregnant women are an inconvenience to their employer, what does that say about how he values women, our work, our contributions?"

The same day, Trump slammed Clinton's position on abortion during a speech at a Faith & Freedom Coalition conference.

“She will keep Obamacare in place, which puts medical decisions in the hands of government. Not good. Obamacare, we will repeal and replace," he said. "She'll restrict religious freedom with government mandates. She’ll push for federal funding of abortion on demand up until the moment of birth, which is where she is, as you know.”