Harris is saying all the right things about abortion. Biden didn't.
In the June presidential debate, President Joe Biden's answer on the abortion issue made me feel hopeless. His answer was incoherent and failed to capture the gravity of the situation, allowing former President Donald Trump room to spread more ridiculous falsehoods about abortion procedures.
Vice President Kamala Harris made up for it in the September debate. She seemed to understand the importance of humanizing the issue. In a race that is being defined by abortion rights, her answer is exactly what I was hoping to hear from the Democratic presidential nominee.
"I pledge to you 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," Harris said Tuesday night, definitively staking her position.
Abortion will help decide this election
Harris also took the time to highlight an important fact: Most Americans support abortion access. Pew Research Center has found that 63% of U.S. adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
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While the economy remains the top issue for most voters, there is a strong contingent of women voters for whom abortion is a major issue.
According to a recent KFF poll, 61% of voters say this election will have a “major impact” on abortion access nationwide.
That’s true, especially considering abortion is on the ballot in up to 10 states. Since Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization reversed Roe v. Wade in 2022, six states have voted on similar measures. Abortion access has won every time.
Harris managed to quell the fears Biden’s debate night answer brought up in me. I hope she maintains a strong stance on the issue into November.
Harris is talking about abortion in all the correct ways
In her answer on abortion, she used anecdotes akin to the stories of the women who spoke on the first night of the Democratic National Convention. The real-life examples stressed the necessity of abortion access in a post-Roe America.
"Trump abortion bans that make no exception even for rape and incest,” Harris said at last week's debate. “Which, understand what that means. A survivor of a crime, a violation to their body, does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next.”
Can Harris win? Harris obviously won the debate. That won't matter if she loses the election.
Her overall answer was what I had been hoping to see from Harris: one that addressed the harsh realities of the Dobbs decision and the subsequent fallout instead of shying away from a topic that remains one of the top issues of this election cycle.
Trump remains unconvincing and unraveled on abortion
Trump has bragged that he killed Roe. He also recently said he'd vote against Florida’s six-week abortion ban before changing course in the following days.
At the debate, ABC News moderator Linsey Davis asked him why women should trust him, given the flip-flopping.
Trump responded with an incoherent answer: “Well, the reason I'm doing that vote is because the plan is, as you know, the vote is, they have abortion in the ninth month.”
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He continued to push the idea that abortions are occurring late in pregnancy – an idea that Harris pushed back on. To be clear, abortions at or after 21 weeks make up only 1% of all abortions in the United States.
“Nowhere in America is a woman carrying a pregnancy to term and asking for an abortion,” she said. “That is not happening. It's insulting to the women of America.”
Trump even said that Minn. Governor Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, supports “execution after birth.” It is not legal to kill a child who has been born in any state, something that Davis also pointed out during the debate.
Overall, Trump came off sounding deranged. He refused to say whether he would veto a national abortion ban if it were passed by Congress. Sure, it played to his base, but it failed to win over moderates or undecided voters.
For people who care about abortion access nationwide, there is one clear choice for president. Trump is the reason Roe v. Wade no longer exists. Harris can help us codify it into law. Vote accordingly.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Peque?o on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harris is saying the right things on abortion. Will voters listen?