During the second presidential debate of the 2024 election, the first ever between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the abortion issue took center stage with intense exchanges between the candidates. Former Republican President Trump flipped the script, both on the moderators who were challenging his opposition to federal abortion restrictions and on the vice president's current support for codifying unfettered abortion access nationwide.

You should ask, will she allow abortion in the eighth month, ninth month, seventh month, okay, would you do that? Trump said, suggesting the moderators press Harris on her own position. Why don't you ask questions? You could do abortions in the seventh month, the eighth month, the ninth month, and probably after birth.

Referring to remarks by Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic governor of Virginia, Trump also pointed to past opposition from the party to partial-birth abortion bans that would prevent physicians from being legally required to provide life-saving care to infants accidentally born alive during abortions. Despite Harris's embrace of the abortion issue in the wake of the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, Trump's explicit abortion position is far closer to the national average than that of Harris.

Both as senator and vice president, Harris has endorsed legislation that would federally codify legal abortion up until the point of birth with the Women's Health Protection Act. Gallup found last year that little more than a third of all voters support legal abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy, and barely one in five voters supports protecting abortion access in the third trimester, with 70% saying late-term abortion should be illegal, contra Harris's previously stated position.

The entire energy of Tuesday night's presidential debate shifted when Vice President Kamala Harris called out Trump's untrue right-wing talking point claiming that people will execute the baby after they are born. Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion, Harris firmly stated, addressing Trump directly.

In states where abortion has been restricted, particularly after the Dobbs decision, there has been an increase in tubal sterilizations. Women, fearing unwanted pregnancies and lacking safe abortion options, are opting for more permanent methods of contraception such as tubal ligation. A study led by Xiao Xu from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center highlighted a 3% monthly increase in tubal sterilizations in these states for at least six months following the Dobbs verdict.

This study, which included data from 4.8 million women across 36 states and Washington, D.C., suggests a direct correlation between the restrictions on abortion and the rate of permanent contraception methods. In contrast, areas where abortion access remained unchanged did not see the same rise in sterilizations, underscoring the impact of legislative policies on reproductive health decisions.

Trump's stance, marked by his refusal to support a national ban on abortion and his criticism of Florida's six-week ban endorsed by his vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance, reflects his strategic positioning towards the median public opinion. Despite friendly fire from social conservatives, Trump has moved away from pushing for federal abortion restrictions, arguing that states should regulate the issue.

The debate also spotlighted the contentious proposed amendment in Missouri, which aims to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution. If passed, this amendment would dismantle the near-total ban on abortion implemented in 2022. A ruling by Missouri's Supreme Court ordered the inclusion of this proposal on the November ballot, reflecting a broader national trend where states such as Arizona, Florida, and Colorado are also considering similar constitutional amendments.

Harris emphasized the human toll of abortion restrictions, detailing incidents in states with bans where women were denied miscarriage care or forced to carry pregnancies resulting from incest. This personal approach contrasted sharply with Trump's generalizations and falsehoods, and it resonated broadly with the public and commentators, who noted a significant shift in the debate dynamics.

With polls indicating that 63% of Americans support legal abortion in all or most cases, the contrasting positions of the candidates underscore the high stakes of the issue in the upcoming election. The diverging approaches highlight how deeply entrenched and emotionally charged the abortion debate remains in American politics, shaping legislative actions and voter sentiments.