Presidential Candidates and their Abortion Rights Stance

The issue of abortion rights is at the forefront of many Americans' minds as the presidential election rapidly approaches. 

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris took to the presidential debate stage on Sept. 10 to discuss their plans for America, including the future of reproductive rights. 

Trump claimed that his actions taken against reproductive rights in the overturning of Roe v. Wade were done for the sake of giving power back to the people. 

“For 52 years they’ve been trying to get Roe v. Wade into the states. Through the genius and heart and strength of six Supreme Court justices, we were able to do that,” Trump said. 

Trump also said that he is for abortion in cases of rape and incest despite his role in restricting reproductive rights. 

Harris argued against Trump’s stance, highlighting the hypocrisy of claiming to stand for victims of rape and incest seeking abortions while Trump's abortion bans are in place in over 20 states, with several of these states refusing to make exceptions. 

“A survivor of a crime of violation to their body does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. That is immoral,” Harris said. 

For UNC sophomore Maya Oakley, Trump’s take on abortion is inconsistent. 

“Trump is going back and forth with whether abortion should be legal at all,” Oakley said. “Women should have the right to choose what they do with their own bodies.” 

Trump claimed to be against a national abortion ban while simultaneously refusing to state whether or not he would veto a ban should one come to pass. Trump added that the Democratic Party is pro late-trimester abortions and the “execution” of babies after they are born, a claim that was rebuked by Harris and the debate moderators alike. 

“Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion,” Harris said. 

Trump’s lies about late-term abortions and the lack of exceptions within his bans have led to doubt about his claims to give reproductive rights back to the states. 

“What Trump said about people having the power to make that decision in a vote would be ideal, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening with it,” said Jameson Rembert, a junior at UNC. “I think it’s more of a talking point than something that could ever be put into practice.” 

If elected, Harris stated she would reinstate the protections of Roe v. Wade, a future Trump said he does not believe is possible. 

“She’ll never get the vote. It reminds me of when they said they’d get student loans terminated and it ended up being a total catastrophe,” Trump said. 

Whether or not Harris can reinstate Roe v. Wade, her stance on the matter is clear. 

“The government and Donald Trump should not be telling women what to do with their bodies,” Harris said. 

With issues like reproductive rights on the line, there has scarcely been a more important time to vote. Ballots for the election are due Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. and individuals who are at least 18 years of age can register to vote online at vote.gov or govotecolorado.gov. Alternatively, the voting registration process can be completed at the Weld County Election Office, 1250 H St.