As challenger Donald Trump prepares to face incumbent President Joe Biden in the first presidential debate of the year on June 27, an independent media outlet has claimed that there is one question the former president must be asked at the event.
Knewz.com has learned that while Trump has mentioned his stance regarding abortion pills, he has yet to delve into detail regarding the matter.
Abortion rights have been one of the most significant grounds for debate among conservatives and liberals and is an important issue in the United States presidential elections.
In an April 2024 interview with TIME, Trump was directly asked whether he would allow women to obtain abortion pills if he reclaims Office for a second term.
While he did not provide a direct answer then, he promised to release a statement within 14 days of the interview elaborating on his views on the subject.
"Well, I have an opinion on [whether women should be able to get the abortion pill mifepristone], but I'm not going to explain. I'm not gonna say it yet. But I have pretty strong views on that. And I'll be releasing it probably over the next week [from the interview in April]," Trump told TIME.
Overall, Trump hinted that he would ultimately let the decision to impose a federal ban on abortion pills rest on the shoulders of state administration.
He invoked the 1973 Roe v. Wade court case, where the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the right to privacy implied in the 14th Amendment protected abortion as a fundamental right.
However, the decision was overturned in 2022, making the right to abortion dependent on the state constitution, as opposed to a right protected by the U.S. Constitution.
"Roe v. Wade was all about—it wasn't about abortion so much as bringing it back to the states. So the states would negotiate deals. Florida is going to be different from Georgia and Georgia is going to be different from other places. But that's what's happening now. It's very interesting," Trump said in his TIME interview.
As a result of the overturning of the decision, "26 US states had multiple bans ready to enact, 13 of which were trigger laws that automatically took effect when Roe v. Wade was revoked," according to a paper published in the National Library of Medicine.
"Eleven states had early gestational age bans, meaning that abortion was not allowed past the first trimester or another time point in the pregnancy," the paper further noted.
Furthermore, a February 2023 study published by the NARAL mentioned that overturning Roe v. Wade restricted abortion access for 24.5 million women of reproductive age.
"If FDA approval of mifepristone [an abortion pill] is revoked, 64.5 million women of reproductive age in the U.S. would lose access to medication abortion care, an exponential increase in harm overnight," the study wrote.
"This decision would only exacerbate the abortion access crisis that continues to sweep the country now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, increasing the number of people experiencing a loss of access by 163%."
This makes Trump's stance on the federal ban on abortion pills a significant talking point in the June 27 presidential debate on CNN, as he is yet to share his "opinion" on the record as a presidential challenger.
TIME had also asked Trump whether he would, as a president, enforce the Comstock Act, "which prohibits the mailing of drugs used for abortions by mail," to which he also replied by saying that he would be "making a statement on that over the next 14 days [from the April interview]."
"Yeah, I have a big statement on that. I feel very strongly about it. I actually think it’s a very important issue," he added. However, it has been months, and Trump has not elaborated his stance regarding the matter yet.
On the other hand, it seems Trump will not be ultimately releasing his statement, as his senior adviser Danielle Alvarez told POLITICO recently that "the matter is settled," with the Supreme Court having unanimously rejected a lawsuit seeking to ban mifepristone.
Alvarez seemingly also tried closing the door to questions regarding the abortion pill issue at the upcoming debate, saying, "This election is about correcting the weakness, failures, and dishonesty of the Biden crime family."
On the other hand, the independent media outlet Popular Information noted that "the matter is not settled," as "nothing in the Supreme Court ruling prevents Trump from using the Justice Department to block shipments of mifepristone to pharmacies."
"Trump typically limits his media appearances to friendly right-wing outlets. As a result, Trump has not been asked directly about his views on this issue since April 12. Thursday night's debate on CNN, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, is a critical opportunity to get Trump on the record," the outlet wrote.