A pro-abortion advertisement running in Michigan is leveraging teen girls’ fear of rape to attack former President Donald Trump ahead of the November election, and there’s a clear reason why.
“I’m not old enough to vote yet, but I learned that one out of six of us will someday be raped,” one girl said.
“So please, think about me when you vote,” said another.
Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial
“I learned how our freedom to have an abortion was taken away, even in cases of rape or incest, even to travel to have an abortion,” others complained, referring to state-imposed abortion restrictions. “Please think about me. You know who got rid of Roe v. Wade.
“Now women are being refused life-saving care at hospitals,” said another girl, playing basketball in a jersey with the number 45.
“And politicians are trying to ban birth control. Please think about me,” a girl said.
Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial
“My parents call me their miracle daughter, because I was born with IVF,” the ad continued. “But IVF could be banned, too. Do they think we’re less than human? Do they think we can’t make decisions about our own bodies, about our own lives?
“When you vote, please think about me,” it concludes. “Because the politician who got rid of Roe v. Wade, he couldn’t care less.”
While the ad, posted to YouTube by Project Freedom, LLC two weeks ago, misrepresents former President Donald Trump’s position on abortion without naming the 45th POTUS, it will likely appeal to women in Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a Democratic majority in the state legislature have focused relentlessly on abortion since the issues propelled the party in 2022 to its first government trifecta in 40 years.
The Great Lakes State ranks 10th for population among states, but is fourth nationally for both the total number of rapes annually and rapes per 100,000 residents – suggesting it’s a serious issue in Whitmer’s Michigan.
Data from the National Sexual Violence Research Center shows Michigan had a total of about 7,800 reported rape incidents in 2023, behind only the three most populous states of California at 18,100, Texas at 16,500 and Florida at 10,900. California’s population is nearly four times as large as Michigan’s, while Texas has three times as many people, and Florida’s population is double.
Rape statistics by state for 2024 shows Michigan’s rate of 72.4 rapes per 100,000 residents is also fourth nationally, behind Alaska at 148.7, Arkansas at 77.2, and South Dakota at 72.6, according to analysis from Data Pandas that ranked Michigan fourth for total rapes in 2024, as well.
While Democrats have worked to push the narrative that a second Trump term would come with a national ban on abortion, IVF, and emergency contraceptives, the former president has repeatedly debunked those claims.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social in April.
Trump reiterated that stance in Tuesday night’s presidential debate with Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, after Harris parroted the election misinformation.
“It’s a lie. I’m not signing a ban, and there’s no reason to sign a ban, because we’ve gotten what everybody wanted, Democrats, Republicans and everybody else, and every legal scholar wanted it to be brought back into the states,” Trump said.
The former president also introduced a new plan last month that would require the federal government to pay for IVF treatments or mandate insurance companies cover the cost, which runs tens of thousands of dollars per cycle.
Harris, meanwhile, is promoting a national right to an abortion, but has not promised any financial support for IVF.