ArcaMax

Then, heart-wrenching stories out of Indiana, where a 10-year-old rape victim had fled from Ohio for an abortion, and Texas, where a woman whose life was at stake was still denied an abortion.

Then, a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court declaring it illegal to dispose of IVF frozen embryos, which left many infertility patients in limbo.

Then, a ruling in Florida allowing for a six-week abortion ban to take effect.

Next, a ruling in Arizona, upholding an 1864 law that banned virtually all abortions.

And finally this week, the Supreme Court heard arguments to determine whether Idaho’s near-total abortion ban conflicts with federal law protecting women who need emergency care.

The blows have come steadily since the 2022 overturning of Roe, forcing Republicans to defend or disavow the ramifications of that decision on a regular basis.

And they’re facing an alarmed and angry electorate.

A majority of Americans say the Republican efforts to limit abortion access go too far. In several battleground states, abortion is the most potent issue driving suburban women to the polls, and they believe Trump’s policies are too extreme. A majority of voters in Florida, Idaho, Texas, Ohio, and Arizona, want abortion laws expanded, not made more strict.

This kind of math doesn’t bode well for Republicans, including Trump. And they know it.

So the hush money trial — unseemly as it is — is a welcome relief from the battering ram of unpopular abortion measures.

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