Kamala Harris fact-checked after claiming Trump 'would ban abortion nationwide'

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, July 02, 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris falsely claimed that former President Donald Trump would pass a national abortion ban following the former president's debate with Joe Biden. 

"Donald Trump would ban abortion nationwide," the vice president wrote in a Sunday X post. "President [Joe Biden] and I will do everything in our power to stop him and restore women's reproductive freedom." 

A community note beneath the post cited multiple media outlets that reported on Trump's abortion stance, providing links to the articles. According to the community note, "President Trump has repeatedly said he will not sign a national abortion ban."

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X owner Elon Musk tweeted: "He clearly said he would not do so in the debate."

Trump has insisted that abortion policy should be left up to the states and that he wouldn't support efforts to enact federal legislation to limit abortion to certain gestations of pregnancy. 

The vice president has made it clear she opposes the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022, a ruling that restored regulatory authority over abortion to the states. 

Harris, a former senator from California,  has been a staunch supporter of abortion throughout her political career. Earlier this year, pro-life advocates condemned Harris' decision to tour a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Minnesota instead of visiting one of the state's numerous pro-life pregnancy centers. 

During the CNN debate on Thursday, Biden and Trump discussed various political issues, including immigration, foreign policy and abortion. In response to a question about whether he would "block" chemical abortions, Trump expressed support for the Supreme Court's recent rejection of a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's approval of abortion pills. 

Trump also said that he supports each individual state deciding its abortion policies, and he clarified that he believes in abortion exceptions in cases of rape, incest or if the pregnancy presents a risk to the mother's life. The former president argued that the Democrats are "radical" on the issue, claiming that Democratic lawmakers support abortion "in the eighth month and ninth month and even after birth." 

He then highlighted comments from 2019 by former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who said that under a proposed Virginia law, an "unviable" newborn would be "kept comfortable," and a discussion would ensue between the parents and the doctor about whether the child should be "resuscitated."

During the debate, Biden claimed that allowing states to dictate abortion laws is a "terrible thing," saying that it is a "little like saying we're going to turn civil rights back to the states, let each state have a different rule." Regarding the limits the president supports on abortion, Biden said that he supports Roe v. Wade. 

"I supported Roe v. Wade, which had three trimesters," Biden said in response to a question about whether he supported any abortion restrictions at all.

"First time is between a woman and a doctor. Second time is between the doctor and an extreme situation. And a third time is between the doctor — I mean, it'd be between the woman and the state."

At one point during the debate, Trump claimed that Biden supports abortion in the ninth month or after the baby is born, to which the president claimed, "We are not for late-term abortion. Period, period, period." Biden later argued that Trump and Republican lawmakers would pass a "universal ban on abortion" if the former president wins the 2024 election. 

Earlier this year, the Republican presidential nominee posted a video to Truth Social outlining his campaign's abortion position, declaring that the Republican Party under his administration "will always support the creation of strong, thriving and healthy American families." Trump also expressed support for in-vitro fertilization "in every state in America." 

Various pro-life groups, including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and March for Life, disapproved of Trump's abortion stance. SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser stated that the organization was "deeply disappointed in President Trump's position." 

"Saying the issue is 'back to the states' cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy," the pro-life leader stated. "If successful, they will wipe out states' rights."