The issue of abortion quickly became a hot-button point in the first presidential debate between President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, with the Republican vice president falsely claiming that Democrats support killing babies after birth and Democrats saying they didn’t believe Trump’s confused statements on the issue.
“This is an execution,” Trump said, arguing that Harris, running mate Tim Walz and their parties support allowing babies to be killed during the last months of pregnancy and after birth. Trump appeared to confuse the Virginia governor and former West Virginia governor as he tried to make his point, but later corrected himself.
Looking at Trump suspiciously, Harris responded, “Now, like I said, you’re going to hear a lot of lies.”
It is illegal in every state to kill a baby after birth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 1% of abortions are performed late in pregnancy (after 21 weeks). This occurs primarily because the baby’s health has deteriorated so much that the baby cannot survive. More than 80% of abortions occur in the first nine weeks of pregnancy, and 6% occur in the second trimester.
Reproductive rights have become central to politics since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended federal abortion rights in 2022. Democrats have seized on the issue of women’s bodily autonomy because of its potential to sway key suburban female voters in battleground states.
Harris, who supports federal legislation allowing abortions before a fetus can survive outside the womb and beyond for medical reasons, was the first White House official to visit an abortion clinic and has blasted President Trump for appointing Supreme Court justices who support overturning federal protections for abortion rights.
“Donald Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices with the intent of rolling back the protections of Roe v. Wade, and they have done exactly what he intended,” she said, predicting that Trump would sign the nationwide abortion ban into law if passed by the Senate and House of Representatives. “And now, more than 20 states have Trump’s abortion bans on the books.”
Trump has accused Harris of lying, saying he would not sign a federal abortion ban and falsely saying Americans across the political spectrum support the issue being decided by states – which is not supported by polls showing that a majority of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe and support abortion rights.
“Look, this is an issue that has divided our country for 52 years,” Trump said. “Every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican … they all wanted this issue to go to the states, where people could vote. And that’s what happened.”
“The states are voting. It’s a vote of the people. It’s not tied to the federal government,” Trump said. “I made a big contribution by doing that. It took courage to do that, but the Supreme Court had the courage to do it. I have a lot of respect for those six justices.”
Trump has made contradictory statements about abortion, repeatedly bragging about the Supreme Court justices he appointed who helped overturn Roe. He has said he believes the issue should be decided by states and that he would not support a federal ban. But he has also said he supports a federal ban after a certain age of pregnancy, leading Harris to say Trump cannot be trusted on the issue and that his actions are “unconscionable.”
“This is an insult to American women,” Harris said. “I want you to understand what’s happening under Donald Trump’s abortion ban. Couples who pray and dream of starting a family are being denied IVF treatment. What’s happening in our country is that working people, working women who work one or two jobs and barely have the means to raise a child, have to fly to another state and sit next to strangers to get the care they need.”
The issue is especially important to suburban female voters in battleground states, as well as in closely contested congressional races that could determine the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives, including much of California.
