Washington: US Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday claimed that former President Donald Trump would push through a national abortion ban if he won the presidential polls. Trump called it a lie but struggled to clearly state his views on abortion, which is one of Harris’s strongest electoral issues.
“I’m not signing a ban,” Trump countered Harris, adding “there is no reason to sign the ban because we’ve gotten what everyone wanted.”
During the tense exchange on abortion at the presidential debate, it appeared that both the candidates’ microphones were unmuted and viewers could hear both candidates speaking interchangeably.
During her argument on reproductive rights, Harris criticised what she called “Trump abortion bans”. The Democratic presidential nominee said Trump’s policies on abortion had no exception for rape or incest, which she called “immoral”.
“One does not have to abandon one’s faith or deeply held beliefs to agree with the government and Donald Trump, certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said.
The Indian-American also stressed that she would “proudly” sign a bill into law reinstating the protection of Roe vs Wade if she was elected the US president.
“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,” the Vice President said.
Trump responded by claiming that in some states, babies were killed after they were born. To this, the moderator interjected, saying, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it is born.”
Trump defended his decision to support the six-week abortion ban and said that “Democrats are radical” in their abortion policies. Trump also attacked Kamala Harris’s vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, for his stance on abortion, claiming he supported “execution after birth”.
The former president also distanced himself from his running mate JD Vance’s claim that Trump would veto a federal abortion ban. “Well, I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness,” Trump said. “And I don’t mind if he has a certain view, but I don’t think he was speaking for me.”
