SUMMARY

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Ruth Marcus join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including a major abortion decision out of Arizona weighs on the minds of voters and Republicans on Capitol Hill navigate their agenda with influence from Donald Trump.

Timestamp: Watch START of video to 5m:03s for discussion of how abortion may affect the 2024 election.

View the transcript of the story.

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. Who is the group that Ruth Marcus says will come out to the polls in full force due to abortion restrictions being enacted?
2. How much affect will abortion have on the 2024 presidential race, according to Marcus? How about David Brooks?
3. Where did Kamala Harris make her recent remarks about reproductive rights?
4. When is the 2024 presidential election?
5. Why do Marcus and Brooks have such different takes on whether or not abortion will be a key issue in the 2024 race?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

At the start of the interview, Geoff Bennett asked: "...what do you make of this aggressive strategy by the Biden campaign to keep the abortion issue in the spotlight and pin Donald Trump as the architect of abortion restrictions in bans like the one in Arizona?"

Do you see this as an effective political strategy for the Biden campaign? Why or why not?

Media literacy: Ruth Marcus said, "Abortion is the gift, and this is an odd way to say it, but it keeps on giving politically for Democrats. It's an odd way to say it, because, obviously, removing abortion rights from American women has affected many women's lives and caused a lot of damage. But, politically, for Democrats, it has been, I think, beyond their wildest dreams."

NewsHour's Bennett moves on to ask David Brooks a question. What would you have asked Marcus as a follow up question to her statement? (These pieces may be helpful: Democrats hope an abortion ballot measure could make Florida a competitive state or How Arizona’s near-total abortion ban revival affects toss-up 2024 races.)

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

FOR MORE

What students can do: Learn about some of the laws surrounding the issue of abortion in America, including the Comstock Act ("Originally passed in 1873 and named for an anti-vice crusader, the Comstock Act was intended to prohibit the mailing of contraceptives, “lewd” writings and any “instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing” that could be used in an abortion," according to the Associated Press) and Arizona State Supreme Court's recent ruling that a near-total abortion ban from 1864 is enforceable (see below).

Link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/arizonas-supreme-court-reinstated-a-near-total-abortion-ban-enacted-in-1864-heres-what-you-should-know

WATCH: Trump says Arizona’s abortion ban goes too far

Former president Donald Trump called on Arizona lawmakers to change it, while also defending the overturning of Roe v. Wade that cleared states to ban the procedure.

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