What Is Donald Trump's Stance On Late Term Abortion? His Claims Are Misleading

When Donald Trump began talking about late term abortion during the final presidential debate, he delivered one of the most memorable moments but also one of the most inaccurate claims from the night. Trump's quote about late term abortion was a little gruesome and very inaccurate. But after hearing his words Wednesday, some might be wondering what is Donald Trump's stance on late term abortion? As it turns out, his stance seems extremely misguided.

After Hillary Clinton said that the government should not make those decisions pertaining to late term abortion, Trump had a different view. Trump had this to say in response to Clinton's stance on late term abortion:

I think it is terrible. If you go with what Hillary is saying, in the ninth month, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby.

Now you can say that that's okay, and Hillary can say that that's okay, but it's not ok with me. Because based on what she's saying and where she's going and where she's been, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day. And that's not acceptable.

All ripping aside, it is obvious from this response that Trump is against late term abortion — along with the fact that he made a pledge last month to nationally ban abortion past 20 weeks. But his statement about late term abortion during the debate is misguided and misleading. While some women might have to get a late term abortion, it is not something that pregnant women elect to do just because they no longer want the baby in the last months before its birth. Having a late term abortion is rare and oftentimes tragic for mothers to be.

According to The Washington Post, doctors do not perform late term abortions anytime past 24 weeks of pregnancy. Instead, they induce labor or conduct an emergency C-section during that time if the mother or the baby is at risk. Furthermore, it is very rare for women to have late term abortions, if at all — according to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than 1.3 percent of abortions happen after 21 weeks or late in the second trimester — this is compared to 91 percent of abortions that happen before 13 weeks of pregnancy.

Since Trump has made his comments about late term abortions, many different stories from women who have undergone a late term abortion have gone viral. Their stories all say the same thing — having a late term abortion is a heartbreaking procedure that no woman wants to have but must have for different reasons. Therefore, by banning late term abortion, Trump could be potentially risking the lives of mothers who must have these late term abortions for their mental and physical well being.

Trump's stance on abortion is not exactly direct. Throughout his time as a politician, Trump has gone back and forth as to when it is (or isn't) acceptable for women to get abortions. Most recently, Trump has been vehemently against abortion (along with his very conservative running mate Mike Pence). According to The Hill, last month Trump vowed to defund Planned Parenthood and ban abortions past 20 weeks.

Trump has made it very clear the he is very much against late term abortion. However, it seems as if he might need to figure out what procedures are used during late term abortions and how rare they are, first.