Who’s the biggest debate liar? If you watch corporate media, Donald Trump is an inveterate liar, and Kamala Harris is a paragon of truth. The reality is MUCH different. As Breaking Battlegrounds began exposing in the first two parts of this series, very little Harris said at the debate was honest.
The first two segments covered the opening question and rebuttals on the economy, now we’re moving on to the second question which was on abortion:
Q2) LINSEY DAVIS: “I want to turn to the issue of abortion. President Trump, you’ve often touted that you were able to kill Roe v. Wade. Last year, you said that you were proud to be the most pro-life president in American history. Then last month you said that your administration would be great for women and their reproductive rights. In your home state of Florida, you surprised many with regard to your six-week abortion ban because you initially had said that it was too short and you said, “I’m going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.” But then the very next day, you reversed course and said you would vote to support the six-week ban. Vice President Harris says that women shouldn’t trust you on the issue of abortion because you’ve changed your position so many times. Therefore, why should they trust you?”
(Note: This is actually a good question, highlighting Trump’s shifting stance on abortion over the last few years. However, compare it to the way Harris – whose views on virtually every subject instantly changed when she became the nominee – was questioned throughout the debate, and you see another element of the endemic bias of the ABC hosts. This is also the point at which the moderators began fact checking Trump, and not Harris. Accordingly, we will also look at whether ABC’s fact checks were accurate or not.)
LINSEY DAVIS: “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.”
FACT CHECK: Democrats in 8 states have succeeded in passing laws allowing abortion through the date of birth. Democrats in an additional 18 states have passed laws allowing late-term and partial birth abortion in the 3rd Trimester
Verdict: False
Harris: “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.”
FACT CHECK: Trump selected judges from a list compiled by the Federalist Society, the leading conservative legal network in the country. Inclusion on the list does not include a litmus test on abortion issues, it is a broader framework to identify potential judges who are “Originalist,” meaning they view the law through the lens of the Constitution, legal precedent, and separation of powers. However, given that Roe v. Wade had long been cited by originalist legal scholars as an extreme example of a ruling that violated the separation of powers and created legislation through judicial order, it is fair to say that Trump’s nominees, via their inclusion on the Federalist list, would be all but guaranteed to view Roe v Wade as mistake.
Verdict: Mostly True
Harris: “And now in over 20 states there are Trump abortion bans which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide health care.”
FACT CHECK: There are 18 states which currently prohibit abortion after the 6th week or earlier, not 20, and Harris’ claim makes it sound like most of these have entirely banned abortion, which is not accurate. Additionally, pro-abortion measures are on the ballot in 6 of these states.
Verdict: Mostly True. Whether you view abortion as “health care” or “murder” entirely depends on your point of view and moral framework. Hence, we’re leaving that assertion by Harris aside, and based on the fact there are 18 states currently have early-term abortion limits or near total bans in place, we’re rating her statement as more true than not. However, it should also be noted that overturning Roe and returning abortion laws to the states, meant it was always going to take a couple of election cycles and/or state legislative sessions to settle on a preferred outcome moving forward in each state.
Harris: “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, a violation to their body, does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next.”
FACT CHECK: Texas law specifies a lifetime prison sentence for anyone who performs an abortion, except in circumstances where the life of the mother is at physical risk. Two other states have less significant penalties, but likewise do not have exceptions for rape and incest. However, it should be of note that Donald Trump has repeatedly called for state laws to include exceptions for rape and incest, including during the debate.
Verdict: True
Harris: “Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot?”
FACT CHECK: No state bans medical treatment for a miscarriage.
Verdict: False. Equating abortion and miscarriages is a scare tactic not grounded in reality.
Harris: “But understand, if Donald Trump were to be re-elected, he will sign a national abortion ban.”
FACT CHECK: Trump has repeatedly said he would not sign a national abortion ban. Additionally, it should be noted that neither Party will have the 60-vote majority in the Senate to pass such a law in either direction anytime soon.
Verdict: False
Harris: “Understand in his Project 2025 there would be a national abortion ban. Understand in his Project 2025 there would be a national abortion — a monitor that would be monitoring your pregnancies, your miscarriages.”
FACT CHECK: As noted in the second part of our series, Trump is not affiliated with Project 2025. Further, Project 2025 – even if Trump supported it, which he does not – does not include policy related to abortion, and the idea of a federal monitor is entirely anathema to the policies it does support.
Verdict: False
Harris: “And as you rightly mentioned, nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion. That is not happening.”
FACT CHECK: Abortions after 21 weeks are rare, but represent 1% of all abortions carried out in the U.S. Given that there were over 1 million abortions performed in the U.S. in 2023, that means approximately 10,000 abortions were performed late term. Here’s a video of a clinic offering a woman an abortion at 34 weeks (8 months).
Verdict: False. While rare, very late term abortions, even those right up to the moment of birth, do occur even when the life of the mother is not at risk.
Harris: “And understand what has been happening under Donald Trump’s abortion bans. Couples who pray and dream of having a family are being denied IVF treatments.”
FACT CHECK: IVF availability is not impacted by state abortion laws. While Alabama’s Supreme Court ruled initially that their state’s fetal personhood law protected IVF-fertilized embryos and prevented them from being discarded if no longer needed, the state legislature quickly acted to clarify that this was not the case.
Verdict: False. No state bans IVF treatment.
Harris: “…the majority of Americans believe in a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. And that is why in every state where this issue has been on the ballot, in red and blue states both, the people of America have voted for freedom.”
FACT CHECK: This is correct, every state that has had a vote on abortion since the Obergfell decision has so far passed laws legalizing abortion access in their state.
Verdict: True
Summary: Harris’s responses on abortion-related questions included 6 lies and 2 true statements, and 2 that were mostly true. Additionally, we have the first of the on air fact checks of Donald Trump by ABC moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir – which was a lie.
Running Kamala Harris “Truth Tally”
15 lies
3 deceptive answers
7 truths, 2 of the deceptive variety
ABC Moderator Fact Check Scorecard: Lies 1 – Truth 0
Note: the opinions expressed herein are those of Sam Stone only and not his co-host Chuck Warren or Breaking Battlegrounds’ staff.
