The Abortion Issue
The Centrist Independent Voter favors institutionalizing Roe v Wade legislatively at the federal level. For details see our Policy Position on Abortion. That position would leave state governments able to restrict abortion during the third trimester, if they chose to do so.
Kamala Harris on Abortion Rights
Kamala Harris supports the position of the Democratic Party that neither the federal nor the state governments should restrict a woman’s right to an abortion at any time. I am sure that she would sign legislation that embodied the Centrist Independent Voter’s position on this issue because it is probably the best that she could get out of Congress, even a fully Democratic Congress. I am also reasonably certain that she would use whatever authority she had as President to protect abortion rights and reproductive rights in general.
Donald Trump on Abortion and Reproductive Rights
Pinning Donald Trump down on abortion rights is like fishing with your bare hands. Early in his career he was pro-choice. He veered pro-life to get the evangelicals when he ran for President. He did what they wanted and appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court who overturned Roe v. Wade. He brags about having done that. Nevertheless, Trump now wishes the issue would go away because he knows it might hurt him. He has suggested he might veto a national ban on abortion, but he refused to answer that question during the debate with Harris. He has said the issue is in the hands of the states now. The problem with this answer is that there are national issues, even if one accepts that the core issue is in the hands of the states. For example, should states be allowed to criminalize crossing state borders or helping people cross state borders to obtain abortions. Should chemical abortions prescribed by out of state doctors and delivered by out of state pharmacies be available in all states? Hard right Republicans have pushed into the arena of IVF and contraception. That too begs for a national approach. Trump has said he opposes restriction on IVF, but he also says these issues should also be left up to the states. Trump opened a Pandora’s Box of problems with his Supreme Court appointments and now he would like to just wish them away.
The Bottom Line
I don’t think Trump really cares about this issue. I am pretty certain that Harris does care. I think that Trump would be willing to use this issue as a bargaining chip in pursuit of his other objectives. So for those who care deeply about protecting abortion and reproductive rights, I think the safer bet would be Kamala Harris. For those who would like to use the Presidency to promote greater restrictions on abortion rights, your guess is as good as mine about what Trump would really do. I don’t think he wants us to know.