COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion, the issue has at times dominated the discussion among the Republicans seeking their party’s 2024 presidential nomination and is sure to be on display during the first GOP campaign debate Wednesday in Milwaukee.
Some of the division among the candidates has come over whether there should be a national ban on the practice — and after how many weeks — now that the justices have returned specific debate over abortion legality to the states.
A look at how the issue of abortion is playing out among Republican and Democratic candidates:
The former president, the current GOP front-runner, has often sidestepped the issue of abortion, even as Republicans across the country have celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision.
In April, a major anti-abortion group assailed Trump on the issue, saying his contention that abortion restrictions should be left up to individual states, not the federal government, is a “morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate.”
The Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group has said it would not support any White House candidate who did not at a minimum support a 15-week federal abortion ban.
Trump, who has referred to himself as “the most pro-life president in American history, has pointed to his successful nomination of three conservatives justices, a move that tilted the court to the conservative majority that overturned Roe v. Wade. Earlier this year, he characterized as “too harsh” a measure signed into law by fellow contender Gov. Ron DeSantis that would ban abortions in Florida after six weeks of pregnancy.

Apnews