OPINION:
The following analysis is part of The Washington Times’ Voter Guide, which outlines the candidates’ policies on the most important topics.
Perhaps no issue has motivated more Democratic voters than abortion access. According to Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump wants a “national abortion ban.” The former president counters that Ms. Harris wants unlimited abortion access up to the day of birth and beyond.
Mr. Trump stands on a pro-life record. He appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had allowed abortion until the baby became capable of living outside the womb. That usually happens between 24 and 28 weeks after conception.
The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health ruling returned the abortion issue to the states in 2022.
“My view is that now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint,” Mr. Trump explained on Truth Social. “The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land, in this case, the law of the state.”
And that is what happened.
In the last two years, 18 states have banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, three states have banned it after 12 to 15 weeks of pregnancy, four states put the limit at 18 to 22 weeks and 18 states put it at 24 weeks or later. Eight states have no defined limits on abortion procedures, allowing abortions from the ninth month of pregnancy to birth.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that he would not sign a national abortion ban and that such talk is ridiculous because the Senate would have to adopt legislation to do that. In an evenly split chamber, such a bill could not pass.
That doesn’t mean he isn’t pro-life.
As president, Mr. Trump issued an executive memorandum reinstating the Mexico City policy, which stops taxpayer funding of abortion overseas.
He defunded the U.N. Population Fund, which supported forced abortions in China.
He signed into law a state’s right not to fund Planned Parenthood or any other abortion clinic with taxpayer money under Title X.
He gave states the power to use federal money to fund comprehensive health care clinics, which can better serve women and girls.
Ms. Harris has championed Planned Parenthood and unlimited abortion access. On the campaign trail, she says she will “support reinstating the protections of Roe v. Wade.” To do so, she would also need Congress to pass legislation — just as unlikely a scenario as a national abortion ban being advanced.
As California attorney general, Ms. Harris targeted pro-life activists at the behest of the abortion industry. Her office oversaw the raid of David Daleiden’s home. Eleven armed California Department of Justice agents turned his house upside down and seized his property, including his laptop computer and hard drives.
This happened days after Mr. Daleiden posted undercover videos of Planned Parenthood employees discussing the pricing of tissue and organs harvested from aborted fetuses. It was also after Planned Parenthood executives in California had arranged in-person meetings with Ms. Harris to discuss the videos and the possible prosecution of Mr. Daleiden.
Ms. Harris also co-sponsored a California law forcing pro-life centers to display notices about access to abortion clinics that included a phone number so women could determine if they were eligible for a subsidized abortion.
The Supreme Court struck this down as a violation of the First Amendment rights of pro-life centers. From the White House, Ms. Harris and President Biden have continued to show contempt for these rights with one-sided enforcement of the FACE Act.
The law bans interference with access to “reproductive health services,” which include both abortion providers and pregnancy centers. The administration has used the statute to charge 26 pro-life activists while ignoring 88 attacks on pro-life groups and 357 churches that have been vandalized.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, signed legislation that did away with restrictions on abortion through nine months of pregnancy. The measure eliminated requirements to try to save babies born alive after a botched abortion and to report the deaths of aborted babies after 20 weeks. It also stopped funding to pro-life pregnancy centers, going well beyond Roe.
When asked about how his stance on the issue translates on the campaign trail, Mr. Walz told “Fox News Sunday,” “The vice president and I have been clear the restoration of Roe versus Wade is what we’re asking for.”
Then he pivoted: “To be very clear, Donald Trump’s asking for a nationwide abortion ban.”
Voters will choose based on the candidates’ records and subsequent statements.
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