The Democratic National Committee released a so-called ‘fact check’ this week that claimed the “Trump-Vance ticket” has an “anti-choice, anti-freedom agenda.” After GOP Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance said that his personal views on abortion won’t “dominate” the ticket because he isn’t running for president, DNC Spokesperson Aida Ross released a statement claiming that President Trump and Vance “will enact their dangerous Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion nationwide with or without Congress.”
It’s time to fact check the “fact checkers” on the claim that “banning abortion nationwide” is a goal of any current presidential candidate.
Trump’s statements
The DNC used quotes from Trump to try to prove that he wants a national law to “ban abortion,” with the focal point being Trump’s 2023 remarks: “There, of course, remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life. And it’s very important.”
But the DNC left out much of that quote, which shows that Trump is focused more on ending late abortion:
We cannot, Republicans, in this room be afraid to take on Democratic extremists. You have to be strong and powerful. That’s why when I’m reelected I will fight against the demented late-term abortionists in the Democrat Party who believe in unlimited abortion on demand and executing babies […]
I believe the greatest progress for pro-life is now being made in the states. That’s one of the reasons they wanted Roe v. Wade terminated is to bring it back into the states where a lot of people feel strongly it should be. And legal scholars feel strongly it should be […]
There, of course, remains a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life. And it’s very important.
Trump never said that he believed the federal government’s role would be to enact a national law to ban abortion. It seems possible, given the context of Trump’s remarks, that he may have been referring to his “fight” against “late-term” abortion. The vast majority of Americans, according to polling, do not support unrestricted abortion — with most saying they would prefer it be limited to either cases of rape/incest/life of the mother, or to the first trimester.
The additional quotes the DNC used to claim that Trump would enact a nationwide abortion ban are all focused on the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that allowed states to enact laws to protect preborn children at any point in pregnancy, not just after viability as Roe did. The DNC expects readers to believe that because “Trump claims credit for all abortion bans” he would push for a “national” or “nationwide ban.” But the reality is that Trump appointed Supreme Court justices who helped to overturn the bad law that was Roe, and he now feels comfortable about allowing states to make their own laws either allowing or disallowing abortion.
And, notably, Trump has never expressed support for a nationwide abortion ban.
In January 2015, during an interview with Mark Halperin at the Iowa Freedom Summit, Trump was asked about whether he viewed early abortion as murder:
Halperin: Abortion even early in a pregnancy is murder to you?
Trump: No. What I’m saying is this: with caveats – life of the mother, incest, rape – that’s where I stand. So I’m pro-life, but with the caveats. …
Halperin: Say a woman is pregnant and is not in any of those exception categories, and she chooses to have an abortion.
Trump: It depends when. It depends when.
Again, this appears to be the view of the majority of Americans, according to polling.
Even in 2016, there was concern that Trump was going to weaken the party platform on abortion. NBC Today host Savannah Guthrie asked Trump about his possible desire to change the platform to include exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, saying, “Would you want to change the Republican platform to include the exceptions that you have?”
Trump replied, “Yes, I would. Yes, I would. Absolutely. For the three exceptions I would.” At the time, however, the GOP refused to alter the platform to meet Trump’s stance. This year, however, the RNC did change its platform to match Trump’s abortion stance, ending its 40 years of support for federal protections for all preborn children.
The RNC solidified that the party will stand behind Trump’s position on abortion, which is that laws surrounding abortion — the direct and intentional killing of innocent human beings in the womb — should be left up to the states to decide.
In April 2023, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, “… Trump believes that the Supreme Court, led by the three Justices which he supported, got it right when they ruled this is an issue that should be decided at the State level.” And Trump continues to celebrate the overturning of Roe as the right call, giving pro-lifers the “power” to “negotiate” on abortion.
In all of this, Trump’s position on abortion appears to be unchanged. He does not support a national abortion ban.
Vance’s statement fact-checked by DNC
The DNC additionally claimed that a statement from Vance was a “cover” for Trump’s supposed plan to criminalize abortion nationwide.
“I’m the vice presidential nominee,” said Vance, “not the presidential nominee, and if I want my views on abortion to dominate the Republican Party … then I’d run for president. I didn’t and I haven’t. Donald Trump ran for president.”
Vance confirmed with this statement that while he may personally oppose abortion — Trump’s position is different.
The DNC fact check mentioned a quote from Vance from January 2022 (five months before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade), in which Vance said he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” Additional quotes used by the DNC show that in the past, Vance has supported pro-life laws, including ‘heartbeat bills’ and the idea of a federal law protecting preborn children at 15 weeks. But this doesn’t equate to an all-out “national ban” on abortion under a Trump presidency, even if abortion proponents portray it that way. (In fact, the vast majority of abortions take place before 15 weeks — so how could this possibly be considered a “nationwide ban on abortion”?)
Trump, however, has made it abundantly clear for a decade that he opposes a federal law protecting all preborn children from abortion — and now Vance has made it clear that this is Trump’s presidential run, not his; therefore, it will be Trump’s abortion opinions that lead the rest of the party.
A ‘nationwide abortion’ law
For more than a decade, pro-abortion lawmakers have been attempting to pass a nationwide abortion law that would negate any and all state protections for preborn children. In 2013, the Women’s Health Protection Act was introduced. It stated that “Access to safe, legal abortion services is essential to women’s health and essential to women’s ability to participate equally in the economic and social life of the United States.” (More on abortion and equality here.)
These lawmakers continued to push for a national pro-abortion law when it attempted to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act again in 2016, with the claim that there was a “constitutional right to abortion.”
The Act was reintroduced multiple times, including in 2021, with the claim that “Abortion-specific restrictions are a tool of gender oppression.” The Act stated that “[abortion] restrictions harm the basic autonomy, dignity, and equality of women, and their ability to participate in the social and economic life of the Nation.”
In other words, pro-abortion lawmakers believe that 1) any restrictions on abortion should be done away with, and 2) women need to kill their children in the womb, or they become incapable of achieving educational, career, or societal success.
Editor’s Note, 7/25/24: This post has been revised since its original publication.
