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Trump Wouldn’t Say If He’d Veto a Federal Abortion Ban. Anti-Abortion Advocates Aren’t Impressed.

“I don’t think that means he’s necessarily more open to a federal pro-life law,” one anti-abortion activist said. “I think it is an indication that he understands how important the pro-life vote is.”

Election 2024 Abortion
Trump was asked twice at Tuesday night’s debate whether he’d veto an abortion ban if Congress passed one. He refused to answer. Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Former President Donald Trump twice refused to say whether he would veto a national abortion ban during Tuesday night’s presidential debate. But even as that will likely give a new argument to Democrats and abortion rights advocates, prominent anti-abortion activists were still left unimpressed by his performance, saying they don’t believe his nonanswer means he’s aligned with them on a national ban.

“I think he made a decision to stay away from any abortion ban discussion,” Abby Johnson, a prominent anti-abortion activist, told NOTUS. “I don’t think that means he’s necessarily more open to a federal pro-life law. I think it is an indication that he understands how important the pro-life vote is.”

Rather than answering the question, Trump said he “wouldn’t have to” veto a ban because Republicans could not get enough votes to pass such a bill.