Trump Claims Voter Control Over Abortion; Not Applicable in NC

During his debate with Kamala Harris, Trump falsely claimed voters decide on abortion laws following the overturning of Roe. Despite this, North Carolina’s Republicans have not allowed the issue on the ballot.

Fact-checking Trump’s misleading statements about abortion rights in his debate with Kamala Harris, he did share some truth.

Voters in Kansas and Ohio, two Republican-leaning states, passed amendments protecting abortion rights by wide margins, as Trump stated.

However, Trump misconstrued this as evidence of his “great service” in appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade’s federal abortion protections, enabling state legislatures to pass abortion bans.

“Every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative, all wanted this issue to be brought back to the states where the people could vote,” the former President claimed. This is not accurate.

In reality, the majority of Americans did not want Roe to fall. It is Republican state legislatures passing abortion bans, not the public.

Only approximately two dozen states allow citizen-led initiatives, providing voters with the opportunity to determine their abortion laws. Most states with abortion bans, including North Carolina, have not permitted the public to vote on the issue.

While Republicans in North Carolina, introduced a number of ballot measures for voters to consider, they did not include abortion protections. A Democrat, State Sen. Rachel Hunt, proposed a ballot measure to safeguard abortion rights, but Republican leaders disregarded it.

In each state that presented the issue directly to voters, voters overwhelmingly voted to protect abortion rights. No states voted to restrict them.

Trump did not clarify whether he would sign or veto a nationwide abortion ban if it arrived on his desk, while Harris promised to sign a bill reinstating Roe’s protections, if she becomes President and Democrats regain control of Congress.

Here are some of Trump’s false statements from the debate:

• The claim: “Every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative, all wanted this issue to be brought back to the states.” The reality: Many Republicans and some far-right legal scholars wanted Roe to fall, but the majority of Americans were against it, and nearly every major medical association globally maintains that abortion bans are dangerous.