Abortion rights have dominated the political conversation this week with former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both releasing campaign materials taking aim at each other's respective positions.
In 2024, Trump has labeled himself as the anti-abortion candidate, while Biden has positioned himself as the pro-choice candidate. However, both of them have expressed and showed varying stances on the divisive topic over their years in the public sphere.
Trump released a four-minute video on Monday, in which he boasted about the repeal of Roe v. Wade and said that abortion was an issue that should be left up to individual states. Biden fired back with an emotional campaign ad, where a woman explained that after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, she was unable to get an emergency abortion, developed sepsis and will likely never be able to get pregnant again.
When Biden was first elected to the Senate, however, he was far from a champion of abortion rights. As a devout Catholic, the president admits to struggling with the issue of abortion. In 1977, he voted against a bill that would've allowed Medicaid to fund abortion in instances of rape or incest. When the issue came up again, in 1981 and 1983, the then-Senator maintained his position that Medicaid should only fund abortion when a mother's life was at risk.
In 2007, Biden wrote that he didn't believe he had "a right to impose my view on the rest of society," a belief he has reiterated several times since. During his presidency, the Biden administration has emphasized its commitment to ensuring abortion access and protecting the privacy of pregnant people and medical professionals.
Trump's evolution on abortion played out in the public sphere during the 2016 presidential race. He told Chris Matthews that he believed there should be "some form of punishment" for people who get abortions. Critics quickly pointed out the inconsistency of Trump's opinions - noting that in 1999 he told Meet the Press that he was "very pro-choice."
"I hate the concept of abortion," he said. "I just believe in choice."
By 2011, Trump's beliefs had shifted - he gave a speech at CPAC declaring himself to be pro-life, a view which has continued to espouse. The former president continues to declare himself a pro-life candidate - with exceptions for rape, incest and life-threatening danger - but he also reportedly worries that the issue will harm the GOP in elections.
"My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint," he said in the Truth Social video. "But we must win. We have to win."
