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On Tuesday night, as Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, got pressed about his support for a national abortion ban on the debate stage, the former president turned to social media to issue an all-caps message. “EVERYONE KNOWS I WOULD NOT SUPPORT A FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, AND WOULD, IN FACT, VETO IT, BECAUSE IT IS UP TO THE STATES TO DECIDE BASED ON THE WILL OF THEIR VOTERS (THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE!),” he wrote. “LIKE RONALD REAGAN BEFORE ME, I FULLY SUPPORT THE THREE EXCEPTIONS FOR RAPE, INCEST, AND THE LIFE OF THE MOTHER.”
The post set off a flurry of breathless media coverage characterizing Trump as changing his position on abortion and committing not to outlaw the procedure nationwide. But this is just a rhetorical trick; as writer Jessica Valenti has noted, following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the anti-abortion movement has repeatedly tried to replace the term abortion ban with national minimum standard or national consensus. Abortion opponents use the word ban to describe legislation with no exceptions for abortion care whatsoever, while they use minimum standard to describe bills that do include what Trump called “the three exceptions.” To the rest of us, they would do the exact same thing: effectively outlaw abortion nationwide.
Vance has used this deceptive language when referring to a 15-week federal abortion ban introduced by South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham that he supported. Graham has said he’ll keep pushing for the bill if Trump is reelected. “Lindsey Graham himself has not advocated a federal abortion ban,” Vance told NBC News’ Kristen Welker. “Lindsey Graham has advocated for a federal minimum standard.” And, at the debate, Vance — who previously said he would “like abortion to be illegal nationally” — claimed he has never supported a federal ban, but instead backed “setting some national minimum standard” during his 2022 Senate campaign.
JD Vance: “I never supported a national abortion ban. I did, when I was running for Senate in 2022, talk about setting some minimum national standard.” pic.twitter.com/JXRXeKPoKn
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 2, 2024
Then there’s the matter of the Comstock Act, a federal anti-obscenity law from 1873 that remains on the books and outlaws the mailing of “every obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance.” Project 2025, the far-right transition plan crafted by Trump alumni, calls for a president to direct the Department of Justice to enforce the law and prosecute people who send abortion pills through the mail. (Comstock isn’t referred to by name in the document, but the footnotes refer to its section of the U.S. code, 18 U.S.C. § 1461—another sleight of hand to try to hide the anti-abortion movement’s goals.) Abortion-rights advocates have warned that enforcing Comstock would amount to a nationwide ban, as it could not only prohibit mailing medication but also the instruments that are used in abortion care.
Project 2025 also calls for rescinding the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of the two pills used in medication abortions. Such a move would be devastating for patients, as pills are used in the majority of both clinician-provided and self-managed abortions in the U.S. When asked about it recently, Trump didn’t answer whether he’d direct the FDA to follow through.
So, when Trump and Vance say their administration would not support a “federal ban,” they are talking about a very specific type of abortion restriction without exceptions. Legislation that includes exceptions — or enforcing the Comstock Act — seems to be fair game, however. I emailed the Trump campaign the following questions in hopes his team could clarify his position:
The campaign did not answer these questions. Instead, it shared a statement from press secretary Karoline Leavitt along with a link to Trump’s Tuesday post. “President Trump has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion and has been very clear that he will NOT sign a federal ban when he is back in the White House,” Leavitt said in the statement.
Why shy away from these straightforward questions? Because Trump is obfuscating his position on the issue, just like he repeatedly lies about abortion care later in pregnancy. His latest post is an attempt to trick voters, and the media is clearly falling for it as well. It shouldn’t.
The Cut offers an online tool you can use to search by Zip Code for professional providers, including clinics, hospitals, and independent OB/GYNs, as well as for abortion funds, transportation options, and information for remote resources like receiving the abortion pill by mail. For legal guidance, contact Repro Legal Helpline at 844-868-2812 or the Abortion Defense Network.
