US Vice President Kamala Harris said that former US President Donald Trump will sign national abortion ban if he gets re-elected. However, Trump called Harris' statement a "lie" and said that there's no reason to sign a ban.
During Kamala Harris and Donald Trump face-off at Philadelphia during the ABC News presidential debate, the two leaders touched on the topic of e subject of abortion. She said Trump's policies on abortion have no basis except for rape or incest and termed it "immoral."
On the issue of abortion, Kamala Harris said, "Well, as I said, you're going to hear a bunch of lies, and that's not actually a surprising fact. Let's understand how we got here, Donald Trump hand selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v Wade. And they did exactly as he intended."
"And now in over 20 states, there are Trump abortion bans, which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide healthcare, in one state, it provides prison for life. Trump abortion bans that make no exception even for rape and incest, which understand what that means. A survivor of a crime or violation to their body does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. That is immoral. And one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree," she added.
Kamala Harris said that the government and Donald Trump should not tell women what they should do with their bodies. She announced that she would "proudly" sign a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v Wade if she becomes US President.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said, "The government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body. I have talked with women around our country you want to talk about, this is what people wanted. Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because their healthcare 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."
"And I pledge to you, when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v Wade, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. But, understand, if Donald Trump were to be re-elected, he will sign a national abortion ban. Understand, in his project 2025, there would be a national abortion monitor that would be monitoring your pregnancies, your miscarriages. I think the American people believe that certain freedoms, in particular the freedom to make decisions about one's own body, should not be made by the government," she added.
Rejecting her remarks that he would sign national abortion ban, Trump termed it a "lie." He said that Democrats, Republicans and everyone wanted it to be brought back into the states, referring to the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v Wade.
In response to Harris' remarks, Trump said, "Well there she goes again, it's a lie. I'm not signing a ban and there's no reason to sign a ban because we've gotten what everybody wanted, Democrats, Republicans and everybody else and every legal scholar wanted it to be brought back into the states and the states are voting. And it may take a little time but for 52 years, this issue has torn our country apart and they wanted it back in the states. And I did something that nobody thought was possible. The states are now voting, what she says is an absolute lie and as far as the abortion ban, no I am not in favour of abortion ban but it does not matter because the issues has been taken over by the states."
Asked whether he would veto the national abortion ban at the ABC News debate, he said, "Well, I would have to, because again two things. number one, she said she would go back to Congress but she will never get the vote. It is impossible for her to get the vote especially now with the 50-50, essentially 50-50 in both Senate and the House. She is not going to get the vote. She can't get the vote. She is not going to get close to it."
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the US abolished abortion rights while overturning the constitutional right granted to women in a historical 1973 ruling called Roe vs Wade. Through this abortion was legalized across the states.
The Supreme Court has struck down Roe vs Wade, eliminating the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion and ruled that states may regulate the practice of it, according to a media report, CNN reported.
Abortion has emerged as a key issue in the 2024 election. According to CNN report, freedom advocates have been making efforts to get measures preserving reproductive rights on the elections in November to let voters weigh in.