Fact-Checking Kamala Harris And Donald Trump’s Exchange On Late-Term Abortions

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump sparred over late-term abortions during the Sept. 10 presidential debate.

The exchange, per the transcript:

Trump: That’s the problem. Because under Roe v. Wade.

Harris: Answer the question, would you veto–

Trump: You could do abortions in the seventh month, the eighth month, the ninth month –

Harris: That’s not true.

Roe v. Wade was the 1973 Supreme Court decision that enshrined abortion as a constitutional right, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. That decision was overturned in June 2022 by the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which returned the issue to the states and removed abortion as a constitutional right.

Roe V. Wade allowed states to have “retained the power to regulate or restrict abortion access depending on the stage of pregnancy,” and allowed “outright bans on abortion were permitted if they contained exceptions to preserve life and health,” after fetal viability, per the Brennan Center for Justice.

Abortions did occur in the the third trimester during Roe. V Wade, which roughly starts at 28 weeks, per the Cleveland Clinic. For example, Colorado abortionist Warren Hern conducted an abortion in the 35th week in 2012, according to the Atlantic. He has ended pregnancies that are in the “22, 25, even 30 weeks along,” per the outlet.

A Maryland abortion clinic offered late-term abortions in 2017, being one of the few in the country who performed abortions after 26 weeks, according to the Washington Post.  Still, late-term abortions are rare, with more than 98% of abortions occurring before the 20th week in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Minnesota reported in 2022 that two abortions happened between the 25th and 30th week, Check Your Fact previously found.

Nine states and the District of Columbia allow abortion without any gestational age limits, according to the New York Times. 22 states have restricted abortion or banned it since Roe V. Wade was overturned. (RELATED: Kamala Harris Claims There Are Zero U.S. Troops In Combat Zones In War Zones)

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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