Trump-Harris debate: Where do they stand on abortion?

The first presidential election debate between Republican Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris saw the candidates trade blows on abortion, an issue that divides the parties as fiercely as it splits the nation.

The Nov. 5 election marks the first presidential election since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, ending a federal right to the procedure.

And the candidates were quick to make their differences clear during Tuesday night's debate.

"The government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body," Harris said.

She claimed Trump would support a national abortion ban if elected, an assertion Trump called a lie. 

"I'm not signing a ban and there's no reason to sign a ban," he said.

In the two years since the Court's historic ruling, abortion has become a key battleground, with Democrats in favour of abortion rights and conservative Christian voters who support the Republican party wanting stricter limits.

So what would a Trump or Harris presidency mean for abortion rights?

Where does Trump stand on abortion rights?

During his term as U.S. president from 2017 to 2021, Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, creating a 6-3 conservative majority.

Trump has taken credit for appointing the conservative justices, which allowed the Roe v. Wade decision that recognised a constitutional right to an abortion to be overturned.

During the debate, Trump said he and the Supreme Court had shown "great courage" in their role in overturning Roe v. Wade that brought the issue of abortion "back to the states".

The reversal of Roe v. Wade opened the door for individual states to decide on abortion.

Since the 2002 Court decision, Republican-dominated legislatures have banned or severely limited abortion in nearly two dozen states, while many states under Democratic control -  such as New York, California and Maryland - have enacted additional protections for abortion.

Abortion access is now almost non-existent in southern U.S. states. 

During the presidential debate, Harris said there were now more than 20 states with "Trump abortion bans".

Trump previously signalled support for a ban beyond 15 weeks of any pregnancy.

But with more than 60% of Americans saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases, Trump has sought to temper his position and carve out a middle ground.

During the debate, Trump reiterated he "believes strongly" in allowing abortion in certain situations - in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother - noting this view was shared by "85% of Republicans".

On the Republican Party's platform, a formal statement of non-binding party goals, language on abortion has been tempered.

It endorses Trump's position that the issue of abortion is to be determined by individual U.S. states.

The current Republican platform published in July makes no mention of a national ban or protecting a foetus as a person under the Constitution - tenets that have been included in past platforms and were demanded by a cadre of influential evangelicals.

A call for a national ban could have dented backing for Trump in the six or seven U.S. states that swing between the two parties and are therefore key to the election outcome.

In a presidential race likely to be decided in a handful of states, some analysts say abortion could be critical in battlegrounds such as Nevada, Florida and Arizona.

In 2020, Trump carried Florida by about three percentage points; Biden won Arizona and Nevada by narrow margins.

In his home state of Florida, Trump has said he would vote against a proposed amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution and overturn a current six-week ban.

A six-week abortion ban is a time frame before many women even realise they are pregnant.

On the campaign trail, Trump has appeared wary of the political blowback his party has taken on Roe v. Wade.

The ruling triggered a backlash credited with curbing Republican gains in the congressional mid-terms in 2022 and propelling Democrats to victory in state elections last year.

Trump's pick for vice president, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, has appeared open to a national abortion ban in the past but is now deferring to Trump's more tempered approach.

Where does Harris stand on abortion rights?

During the debate, Harris said it was "immoral" that rape survivors could not get an abortion in states where the procedure is banned.

Harris spoke about the impact of abortion restrictions that mean women are denied emergency care and victims of incest are unable to terminate their pregnancies.

Harris said: "A 12- or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. They don't want that."

During the debate, she pledged that when Congress passes a bill to "put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law."

Doing so, though, may prove difficult to deliver, given the odds of a closely divided Congress ever passing it.

"They [Congress] can never get this approved so it doesn't matter," said Trump during the debate.

Harris has been an outspoken defender of access to abortion and has long portrayed herself as a champion of abortion rights, stretching back to when she was attorney general of California.

As vice president, Harris has toured a Minnesota health clinic that offers abortion services, believed to be the first such visit by a sitting president or vice president.

In August, Harris and running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, launched a "Fighting for Reproductive Freedom" national bus tour that aims to make at least 50 stops. 

Democrats see abortion rights as a winning issue and hope Harris' focus on abortion rights will galvanise voters to make a difference in swing states. 

Voters have also backed measures to protect and or restore abortion rights since the Court's decision.

Every statewide ballot question about reproductive rights since 2022 - seven in all - has yielded victory for abortion rights advocates, including in conservative states such as Ohio, Kansas and Kentucky.

(Reporting by Anastasia Moloney; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths.)