In a debate Tuesday evening, former President Donald Trump reiterated a false claim that some states permit abortions after birth, a statement swiftly refuted by moderator Linsey Davis.
Trump asserted that Democrats support abortion up to the ninth month of pregnancy and alleged that the “previous governor of West Virginia” said the state would decide the fate of a baby after birth, even suggesting that it could lead to the baby being executed.
Davis corrected Trump, stating firmly, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.” Trump’s claim echoes a narrative promoted by anti-abortion activists, stemming from a misinterpreted comment made by former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in 2019. Northam’s statement was taken out of context; he was discussing a hypothetical scenario regarding a non-viable fetus and abortion options during labor.
Anti-abortion groups have used the concept of “after-birth abortions” to criticize abortion laws, despite no state allowing the legal killing of a baby post-birth.
Vice President Kamala Harris denounced Trump’s statement as false and offensive to American women. She blamed him for restrictive abortion laws and shared distressing stories of women suffering due to these regulations. At a Democratic watch party, viewers applauded Harris’s remarks about Trump’s role in ending Roe v. Wade, as reported by The Independent’s Washington bureau chief, Eric Garcia.
Trump praised the six conservative Supreme Court Justices for overturning Roe v. Wade and supported the return of abortion laws to individual states.
