The first presidential debate of the 2024 election year has left many voters feeling disheartened after both candidates failed to answer key questions on issues related to child care costs, immigration and reproductive rights.
Though its hard to pinpoint just one moment that left voters feeling hopeless, answers about abortion rights were particularly egregious with Donald Trump sharing falsehoods and President Joe Biden dropping the ball during what should have been an easy win for him.
Arguably one of the most dangerous pieces of misinformation shared by Trump during the debate was his claim that Democrats support abortions after birth. He said: “The problem they have is they’re radical because they will take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month, and even after birth, after birth.”
No state in the US has passed a law that allows infanticide, which remains criminalized across the US. Republicans and anti-abortion activists often resort to arguments similar to the one Trump made or to using the phrase “late-term abortions” which is largely based on a myth.
Less than 1% of abortions in the US are performed at or past 21 weeks, these kinds of medical abortions mainly occur due to fetal abnormalities or lack of access to care earlier in pregnancy.
The former president and convicted felon also claimed “everybody” wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade and alleged that “the country is now coming together on this issue.”
Anyone who observed the thousands of Americans who took to the street in protest after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe in 2022 knows that it is certainly not true that “everybody” supported the ruling. A survey conducted by Axios and Ipsos in March 2024 found that 72% of Americans — including 51% of Republicans — said they are in favor of people obtaining abortions pills from their doctors or clinics to terminate pregnancy.
As for whether the country is coming together on the issue, so far this year the Supreme Court has heard two abortion cases — one related to emergency medical abortions and one related to access to the abortion pill, mifepristone — proving the issue is most definitely not settled on a national level.
Another of Trump’s false claims was that he alleged the Supreme Court “approved the abortion pill.” It didn’t. While it was a small relief for many to hear Trump state that he wouldn’t block mifepristone if he were to get back into office, he did muddle policies slightly in his claims.
The Supreme Court did not “approve” it they simply ruled against a challenge to mifepristone access, according to Axios, but didn’t to rule on the substance which may leave open the door for future challenges. The move was win for pro-choice activist but still speaks to this nation’s precarious reproductive healthcare laws.
On the Democratic side, Biden failed to knock down Trump’s false claims. Biden did condemn the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade but two years after the fact, the condemnation feels futile. He didn’t point out Trump’s lack of consistency on his abortion stance or debunk his lies. However, for those seeking to protect and regain reproductive freedom, the decision of who to vote for remains clear even with Biden’s lackluster response.
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