Fact-checking Trump’s lies on abortion during the presidential debate

Trump spent much of Tuesday’s debate lying about his position on abortion, repeatedly spreading conspiracy theories about Democrats executing infants, and downplaying the very real consequences of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

Going into Tuesday night’s presidential debate, Donald Trump and his team knew he’d be asked about his views on abortion. 

But if they prepared to handle those questions, it didn’t show, as Trump appeared defensive, aggrieved, and repeated lie after lie about his record on abortion, Vice President Kamala Harris’ stance on the issue, and the state of abortion laws in America. 

Early in the debate, ABC News moderator Linsey Davis asked the former president about his flip-flopping on abortion. 

“In your home state of Florida, you surprised many with regard to your six-week abortion ban because you initially had said that it was too short and you said, ‘I’m going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.’ But then the very next day, you reversed course and said you would vote to support the six-week ban.” Davis said, asking why voters should trust him on the issue. 

Trump responded by ignoring the substance of her question and instead lying about Democrats supporting abortions later in pregnancy, “in the ninth month,” and even after the baby is born. He even repeatedly accused them of executing infants. 

Davis was quick to correct Trump on his lie, stating that “there is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.” 

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 92.7% of all abortions take place by the 13th week of pregnancy. Abortions performed after the 20th week of pregnancy represent a small percentage of the total number of all procedures performed, and they become increasingly more rare as the weeks go on.

The Kaiser Family Foundation notes that only 1% of abortions in the US occur at or after 21 weeks of pregnancy — and in those cases, it’s overwhelmingly the result of threats to the mother’s health or serious fetal abnormalities. 

Trump also lied about the popularity of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which a majority of voters, doctors, and medical experts opposed. 

“Every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative, they all wanted this issue to be brought back to the states where the people could vote. And that’s what happened,” Trump said.

Trump’s claim that voters in every state get to decide their own abortion laws is untrue, as well. In reality, only 26 states allow for ballot referendums, giving voters a direct say. 

And since the fall of Roe — which Trump has repeatedly celebrated, including on Tuesday — 22 states have implemented total or severe restrictions on abortion. 

“Through the genius and heart and strength of six Supreme Court justices, we were able to do that,” Trump said of Roe’s repeal. 

The end of Roe has led to devastating outcomes, some of which Harris highlighted in her response. 

“You want to talk about this is what people wanted,” she said. “Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? She didn’t want that. Her husband didn’t want that. A 12 or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term? They don’t want that.” 

Harris then said she’s committed to “reinstating the protections of Roe v. Wade” should she be elected in November.

Trump also tried to distance himself from Project 2025 during the debate, despite the fact that his name is mentioned 312 times in the document, and that more than 140  former Trump administration officials have helped spearhead its development. 

Project 2025 describes in excruciating detail how the next Republican president could leverage virtually every arm, tool, and agency of the federal government to attack abortion access—including by banning and criminalizing access to abortion medication. 

When asked directly whether he would veto a national abortion ban, Trump sidestepped the question. When asked about his running mate J.D. Vance’s comments saying that he would veto a ban if it came to his desk, Trump said: “I didn’t discuss it with J.D.” 

The two candidates also discussed IVF, which has come under fire in the past year due to an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that stated that frozen embryos are children and that those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death. 

“I have been a leader on IVF, which is fertilization,” Trump said, without offering a case for how he’s been a leader.