Trump demands Kamala Harris explain whether she supports late-stage abortions… as he claims Democrats want to ‘execute the baby’
Donald Trump demanded during Tuesday’s debate that Kamala Harris answer for the “radical Democratic” policies that allow late-term pregnancies and “executions” of newborns.
The former president told ABC News hosts to ask Harris whether she supports abortion in the final months of pregnancy, but they could only do so through the hosts because the rules state that candidates cannot ask each other questions on stage.
Trump claimed that there are cases where Democrats want to legalize abortion in the sixth, seventh or eighth month of pregnancy.
He even said that there are liberals who want newborns to die when they are born and the mother decides she wants to have an abortion.
The claim stems from a 2019 Virginia abortion bill that would have relaxed regulations on late-stage abortions.
Donald Trump says Democrats want to allow ‘execution of babies’ by referencing a 2019 Virginia bill that then-Governor Ralph Northam classified by saying: ‘The baby would be born; the baby would be held comfortably… And then there would be a discussion between the doctors and the mother’
“They’re having abortions in the ninth month… The governor (of Virginia) said earlier, ‘the baby will be born and we will decide what to do with the baby.’ In other words, ‘we will execute the baby,’” Trump said onstage at the debate in Philadelphia.
“The Democrats are radical about that,” he continued. “But her vice presidential candidate says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine. He also says execution after birth — it’s execution, not abortion because the baby is born — is fine. And I don’t think that’s fine.”
ABC News anchor Linsey Davis did a live fact check on Trump at the end of his response about abortion.
“There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born,” she said before giving Vice President Harris a chance to respond.
“Well, like I said, you’re going to hear a lot of lies, and that’s not really surprising,” she replied.
Virginia’s proposed abortion bill drew widespread attention in January 2019.
Then-Democratic Governor Ralph Northam said at the time, “If a mother were in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen: The baby would be delivered; the baby would be kept comfortable; the baby would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family want.”
“And then there was an argument between the doctors and the mother,” he said.
This is the comment Republicans jump on to claim that abortion proponents want babies to die if their mothers want to terminate their pregnancies.
The moderators asked Harris if she supported putting restrictions on abortion, but she dodged the question.
“I absolutely support restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade,” the vice president responded. “And as you rightly pointed out, there is no woman in America who carries a pregnancy to term and asks for an abortion. That doesn’t happen, and that’s insulting to the women of America.”
Trump responded: “I have to respond.”
Trump demanded that Vice President Kamala Harris answer whether she supports late-term abortions in the sixth, seventh or eighth month of pregnancy
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, opening the floodgates for states to regulate abortion instead of it being a federally protected medical procedure
“You should be asking, does she allow abortion in the eighth month, the ninth month, the seventh month?” he told the moderators, but he was clearly speaking to Harris.
“Come on?” the vice-president could be heard saying, although her microphone was muted as it was not her turn to speak.
“Okay, would you do that? Why don’t you ask her that question?” Trump pressed.
“Under Roe v. Wade, you can perform abortions in the seventh month, the eighth month, the ninth month, and presumably after birth,” he continued, as Harris shook her head on a split screen.
“Look at the former governor of Virginia. He said you should put the baby aside and then we should decide what to do with the baby.”
During an interview with ABC News shortly after the confrontation ended, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was asked to clarify whether she would support late-term abortions or implement restrictions.
Walz did not provide much clarity, instead reiterating that they would support the reinstatement of Roe v. Wade, which provided protections and privacy at the federal level from the government when it came to medical decisions, including whether to have an abortion.