Fact Check: Abortion Claims in 2024 Election

A recent Spotlight PA Poll says that nearly 50% of Pennsylvanians see abortion as a top election issue.

The state currently allows abortion up to 24 weeks (which is when medical professions say a human could exist outside the womb— also called fetus viability’). An abortion can be performed past that for medical and health reasons.

In Pennsylvania state politics, both Democrats and Republicans have made recent attempts to increase or decrease abortion access. Republicans tried, and failed, to confirm a No State Constitutional Right to Abortion Amendment in 2022. Early in 2024, Democrats introduced HB 1888 to enshrine reproductive liberty in the Pennsylvania Constitution.

A divided legislature this session, and Republican legislatures but Democrat governors in the recent past, means abortion rights have been static in the state. But as a key issue, political candidates in the state are keen to remember the past and throw out hypotheticals about the future.

At the national stage, there are a few common talking points that have been thrown out by both Democrats and Republicans.

Abortions at Birth?

In the only presidential debate of this cycle, former President Donald Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrat party of wanting to “execute” babies after birth. In the more recent vice presidential debate, Ohio Senator JD Vance made similar statements, talking about a law that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law that removed some abortion restrictions from the state.

In the United States, killing a baby is a homicide according to laws in all states. Federally, the 2002 Born-Alive Infants Protection Act adds another layer of clarification. There have been attempts since then to strengthen the language of the 2002 act and make it more specific to abortion situations. Opposition said the changes would be redundant.

The Guttmacher Institute says there are 9 states with no gestational limits on abortions (Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont). A third trimester pregnancy would be legal.

Abortions that late are exceedingly rare. For 2020, the CDC reports that 1% of abortions happened after 20 weeks of pregnancy (20 weeks is about halfway through 2nd trimester). 93% happen in the first trimester. 

Abortions Bans Attack Healthcare Systems & Professionals

Since the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling, Democrats have rallied that overturning federal protections will put women at serious health risks and disadvantages.

13 states have enacted total abortion bans (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia).

All 50 states have abortion exceptions for the life of the mother.

There are 5 states that do not specify what doctors can do to protect the physical health of a mother in a pregnancy-related medical emergency, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

At this time, no healthcare professional has been criminally prosecuted for giving an abortion. A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey conducted after Dobbs v. Jackson found that in states with total bans, 4 out of 10 OBGYN’s feel constrained in handling pregnancy-related medical emergencies.

The group Pregnancy Justice said that at least 210 pregnant women faced criminal charges from June 2022 to June 2023. There were 64 arrests in 2021. The next highest arrest number recorded by the group is 158 arrests in 2017.

The majority of cases before and after Dobbs v. Jackson stem from accusations of child abuse/neglect/endangerment from substance use. A press release from the group links the overall increase of criminal cases to the Dobbs v. Jackson case.

Broad Strokes

In 2023, there were 1,037,000 abortions.

Analysts say access to the abortion pill through mail has given women who live in states with bans the chance to do an abortion without leaving the state. 63% of abortions were done by taking the pill in 2023.

Abortion is one part of reproductive health.

In 2019, the CDC reported 5,507,000 pregnancies. In the same year, there were 3,747,540 live births and 916,500 abortions. Medical experts estimate that each year, 15% of pregnancies end in miscarriage.