Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights, Obamacare in First Face-Off

When Vice President Kamala Harris walked across the debate stage Tuesday night to shake former President Donald Trump’s hand, it was the first time the two had met in person. But it was a rare collegial moment in a standoff that has otherwise been marked by the former president’s false and sometimes bizarre claims.

The debate was hosted by ABC, with moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis occasionally fact-checking Trump. He complained on Fox News' “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning that it was a “three-to-one” contest.

The two presidential candidates touched on a range of issues — from jobs and inflation rates to abortion and immigration — in exchanges marked by personal attacks. As our partner PolitiFact noted, Harris frequently addressed Trump directly in response to moderators’ questions. Trump mostly stared straight ahead. In response to Trump’s comments about the Biden administration’s record on crime, Harris cited Trump’s conviction in New York and other indictments.

Moderators asked Trump whether he would try to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, the health insurance program he promised but failed to repeal and replace during his previous administration.

He said that if he became president, he would “only change this if we come up with something better and less expensive.” He continued: “We have concepts and options to do that, and you will hear about them in the not-too-distant future.”

Trump has been promising to replace Obamacare since he was in office. 2015 election campaignDuring the debate, he claimed to have “saved” the ACA by issuing rules aimed at lowering insurance premiums.

Harris's previous support for “Medicare for All” — a proposal to replace private health insurance with a government-run health care system — drew questions from moderators and attacks from Trump.

Abortion has been an obvious flashpoint. Harris has called state restrictions on the procedure, effective 2022, “Trump abortion bans” and said it was immoral to deny a woman the ability to make decisions about her own body. She has also vowed to sign any bill that restores the protections outlined in Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court overturned in 2022.

Trump said he would never face the question of signing a national abortion ban as president, since that is currently being decided in the states. “I will not sign a ban,” he said. “There is no reason to sign a ban.”

Trump also reiterated claims that PolitiFact and other fact-checking organizations have repeatedly found false that Democrats support abortion up until birth and the “execution” of babies after birth. ABC’s Davis noted Trump’s claim, saying that intentionally terminating a newborn’s life is illegal in every state. Additionally, most Democrats support access to abortion up until fetal viability, when a fetus can survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Harris raised questions about Project 2025, a policy plan developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation that Trump has sought to distance himself from.

Moments after the debate ended, the pop star Taylor Swift posted On Instagram, she said she would vote for Harris “because she fights for rights and causes that I believe need a warrior to stand up for.” Swift’s post included a photo of herself with her cat and was captioned “Childless Cat Lady” — a reference to comments made by Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance.

Our PolitiFact Partners fact-checked the debate in real time at live blogWith more information herewhen Harris and Trump clashed over the economy, immigration and abortion.

Below are excerpts detailing specific health-related claims.

Trump: “But the governor said before, 'The baby will be born, and we'll decide what to do with it.'”

LIE.

Trump initially referred to the governor of West Virginia. He meant Virginia, but later corrected himself during the debate.

Former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat and a physician, never said he would authorize the execution of newborns. What he did say during a 2019 radio interview was that in rare cases late in pregnancy when the fetus is not viable, doctors deliver the baby, keep it comfortable, resuscitate it if the family wishes, and then have a “debriefing” with the mother.

The problem is that Northam has refused to say what that discussion would entail. Trump is putting words into the then-governor’s mouth, saying that doctors would persuade a mother to allow them to violently kill a newborn, a felony in Virginia (and every other state) punishable by lengthy prison terms or the death penalty.

Trump: “Every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative, they all wanted [abortion] “to bring it back to the states where people could vote.”

LIE.

1973 year Roe v. Wade The decision inspired legions of supporters and opponents. Before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it in 2022, numerous legal scholars wrote briefs urging the court to uphold the decision.

Some legal scholars who favor abortion rights have criticized the legal basis for the 1973 ruling, saying other constitutional arguments based on equal protection would have provided a stronger case. But legal experts, including some who held that view, said those scholars would not advocate repealing it. Caviar on this basis.

Trump: On the Affordable Care Act: 'I saved it.'

LIE.

In 2016, Trump campaigned to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. As president, he tried to repeal the measure — and failed.

But his administration was persecuted various policies that hampered its reach and effectiveness, including cutting millions of dollars in advertising and funding. He cut subsidies to insurance companies that offered coverage on the exchanges. He also took regulatory steps to allow less expensive and less comprehensive health insurance — for example, short term health insurance plans that were not ACA compliant.

During the Trump administration, ACA enrollment deniedAnd The number of uninsured Americans has risen by 2.3 million people from 2016 to 2019, including 726,000 children, according to U.S. Census Bureau.

Trump: Harris 'wants everyone to have government insurance' for health care

This is misleading.

Harris once co-sponsored a bill to expand Medicare to Americans of all ages, but she currently does not support the proposal.

In April 2019, Harris became one of the 14 original co-authors The 2019 Medicare for All Act, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), would have created a national health insurance program administered by the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

The bill would create an automatic federal health insurance program for all Americans that would mirror the socialized health care systems in countries like the United Kingdom.

Harris supported the bill when she was preparing to run for president in 2020, and many candidates believed Democratic voters wanted the most liberal positions possible.

However, Medicare for All failed to reach a vote in the Senate. Since ending her 2020 candidacy, Harris has focused on supporting the ACA rather than advancing Medicare for All.

Health News KFF — is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues and is one of the core work programs of KFF, an independent source of health policy research, polling and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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