Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and the governor of Minnesota Tim Walz faced off on the debate stage, making their arguments to voters across the country in the final stretch of the elections. 2024 elections.
The vice presidential candidates began the debate with the United States’ role in the Middle East crises and how the country should address issues such as immigration, inflation and the right to abortion.
Tim Walz presented the Democratic position regarding the right to abortion and stressed that both he and Kamala Harris defend the right of women to make their own decisions.
Vance says he “never supported a national abortion ban”
Vance was asked why he has apparently softened his stance on the national abortion ban.
Vance told moderators that he “never supported a national ban.” But in 2022, when he was running for the Senate, Vance said he would “certainly like to make abortion illegal nationwide.”
The senator acknowledged talking about setting some kind of national standard in 2022. Vance mentioned that last year, Ohio voters approved an amendment protecting abortion rights, a position Vance opposed. Vance said that taught him that Republicans “have to do a better job of winning back people’s trust.”
Women often view an unplanned pregnancy as something that will cripple them financially or deter their career, she said, and the Trump-Vance team wants to show they are committed to “pro-family policies.”
Walz opposes being “pro-abortion” and differentiates it from being “pro-women”
Walz was asked to respond to Trump’s claim that supports abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy, saying that the “allegation was not true.”
Trump made false claims about ‘late-term abortion’ during the presidential debate with Joe Biden in June and Vance repeated them Tuesday night. Trump then repeated claims he made in 2016 about abortions in the late stages of pregnancy during a debate against then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in which he stated: “They take the life of a child in the eighth month, in the ninth month and even after birth.”
By definition, late pregnancy abortions occur from 21 weeks of gestation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 1% of all abortions occur at this stage of pregnancy.
More than 80% occur at nine weeks of gestation or earlier, and only 6% occur between 14 and 20 weeks of gestation, which is during the second trimester. Abortion does not mean ending the life of a newborn baby.
Walz touted Minnesota to codify abortion rights in 2023 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“In Minnesota, what we did was restore Roe v. Wade. “We make sure we put women in charge of their healthcare,” she said.
He then warned about what he believes will happen under a Trump presidency. “Project 2025 will have a pregnancy registry. “It will make it more difficult, if not impossible, to obtain contraceptives and will limit access, if not eliminate access, to infertility treatments.”
Walz rejected the argument that Democrats are “pro-abortion,” saying they are “pro-women”“. We are pro-freedom to make your own decisions,” Walz said.
Keep reading:
• Vance could be “one step away from the presidency,” Harris campaign warns
• Vice Presidential Debate: Tim Walz and JD Vance on Immigration
• Trump’s plan on pre-existing conditions in health insurance would affect millions of Latinos
