The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

‘Abortion tourism’: A tidy phrase for punching down at desperate people

Republicans made it harder to get abortions in red states. Now they have a punchline for trivializing the journeys people undertake to get the procedure.

Perspective by
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September 20, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. EDT
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) speaks Saturday at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition's fall banquet, where he used the phrase “abortion tourism.” (Bryon Houlgrave/AP)
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By the time Ron DeSantis used the phrase “abortion tourism” in a televised interview this past weekend, it had already become a favorite little slogan among antiabortion conservatives.

In an interview hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, the Florida governor and presidential candidate was asked a question related to a military policy of funding abortions for active-duty service members who might have to cross state lines to access abortions. “They are breaking, violating the law by funding abortion tourism,” DeSantis replied. “... We’re running low on ammunition, our recruiting is in the absolute gutter now, and you’re funding abortion tourism?”