Voting Guide •
November 12th, 2023
2024 Voter Guide: Where the Presidential Candidates Stand on Abortion
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Updated March 22, 2024
Where do the 2024 presidential candidates fall on abortion?
While abortion has always been contentious in the United States, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has galvanized movements on both sides of the argument for expanding or restricting reproductive rights. Coming up in courts, ballot measures, legislatures, and elsewhere, the subject of abortion has been debated at all different policy levels.
During the 2022 midterms, Democrats used the ruling to push for greater access to abortions. Now, they have used that momentum in their campaigns for the 2024 presidential election. Republicans have mainly called for tighter restrictions on abortion, but Republican candidates hold different views on the potential for a national abortion ban. Many have questioned Congress’ ability to find enough votes to pass federal restrictions. Democrats narrowly control the Senate with 51 seats (plus the vice president’s tie-breaking vote). However, with the filibuster, any bill would need 60 votes to invoke cloture.
Some candidates have also proposed alternative policies to regulate abortion; for example, some have advocated to simplify the adoption process or to provide increased access to contraception.
In terms of the public’s opinion on abortion, 61% of Americans said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and 37% said it should be illegal in all or most cases. Also, 86% of Republicans, 95% of Democrats, and 93% of Independents supported abortion when a mother's life is endangered.
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Joe Biden: Protect access to abortion on a federal level.
“I support a woman's right to choose. I support–it's a constitutional right. I've supported it and I will continue to support it and I will, in fact, move as president to see to it that the Congress legislates that those are the laws as well.”
Biden has expressed support for the abortion guidelines outlined in Roe v. Wade, calling Congress to codify Roe v. Wade into federal policy. In addition, he has signed executive orders to expand access to contraception and family planning services. He has also defended access to mifepristone, an abortion medication, citing the FDA’s authority to approve prescription drugs.
Marianne Williamson: Protect access to abortion on the federal level.
“I believe abortion is a moral issue, but it is an issue of private, not public morality. I do not believe the government has that right to legislate our private morals.”
Williams supports codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law to protect access to abortion. She advocates to expand and restore funding for Planned Parenthood and other local healthcare clinics that provide abortion and other services. In addition, she has pushed to expand access to contraception and alternatives to abortion. Specifically, she has proposed a federal program that provides contraception resources and targets low-income communities.
Donald Trump: Noncommittal on a federal abortion ban, but has signaled support for a 15-week ban.
“What’s going to happen is you’re going to come up with a number of weeks or months, you’re going to come up with a number that’s going to make people happy.”
During his presidency, he played a primary role in the overturning of Roe v. Wade by nominating three conservative Supreme Court justices who voted in favor of overturning the case. In his 2024 campaign, he has repeatedly referenced this: “I did something that for 52 years people talked, they spent vast amounts of money fighting it, but they couldn’t get the job done.” In other major actions, he signed a resolution allowing states to withhold federal funding for abortion providers and issued a proposal to modify Title X barring healthcare providers that refer patients for abortions from federal funding.
Despite his role in restricting access to abortions, he is noncommittal on whether state or federal governments should regulate them. He criticized a bill signed into law by Desantis (R-FL) that banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, stating that “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” When asked about a federal ban in March, Trump said, "We’re going to come up with a time — and maybe we could bring the country together on that issue. The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that. And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hardliners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at."
In another discussion, he said, "It could be state, or it could be federal. I frankly don't care." In recent months, he has expressed support for exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother’s life is at risk: “Without the exceptions, it is very difficult to win the elections.”
Cornel West: Protect access to abortion on the federal level.
“Protecting the reproductive rights of women and ending all forms of patriarchy.”
In addition to supporting the federal protection of abortion, he believes that child poverty should take precedence over talks on abortion: “If they're committed to the well-being of the child, you would think they would be on the cutting edge of eliminating child poverty.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Once supported a 15-week federal ban on abortion, but has since backtracked on his statement.
While he was running as a Democratic candidate, he once stated he would approve of a 15-week ban by the states: “Once a child is viable, outside the womb, I think then the state has an interest in protecting the child.” However, he reversed his statement after backlash, clarifying that he “does not support legislation banning abortion.” On his campaign website, he states that it’s a “woman’s choice” in terms of how a pregnancy should be handled in the first trimester.
This blog was written by Harry Ding, content intern (Center bias). It was reviewed and edited by Henry A. Brechter (Center bias), Malayna Bizier (Right bias), and Joseph Ratliff (Lean Left bias).
