What Joe Biden and Donald Trump said about abortion during debate

In a debate where analysts have said Donald Trump told mistruths and President Joe Biden struggled mightily, the two candidates clearly differed on their stances on abortion.

The debate fell near the two-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned. Trump argued the states need to pass their own laws on abortion, while Biden vowed to restore the landmark abortion law that stood for nearly a half century.

“Fifty-one years ago, you had Roe v. Wade, and everybody wanted to get it back to the states, everybody, without exception, Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives. Everybody wanted it back. Religious leaders,” Trump said, according to the debate transcripts posted by CNN.

“And what I did is I put three great Supreme Court Justices on the court, and they happened to vote in favor of killing Roe v. Wade and moving it back to the states. This is something that everybody wanted. … Everybody wanted it brought back and many Presidents had tried to get it back. I was the one to do it.”

Biden countered, “It’s been a terrible thing, what you’ve done.”

Without mentioning Florida by name, Biden pointed out that some places have six-week abortion bans on the books.

“We’re (ph) in a state where in six weeks, you don’t even know whether you’re pregnant or not, but you cannot see the doctor or have your — and have him decide on what your circumstances are, whether you need help,” Biden said, according to the CNN transcripts. “The idea that the politicians — that the founders wanted the politicians to be the ones making decisions about women’s health is ridiculous. That’s the last — no politician should be making that decision.”

Trump said he supports abortion bans having exceptions.

“Like Ronald Reagan, I believe in the exceptions, I am a person that believes. And frankly, I think it’s important to believe in the exceptions,” Trump said. “But I believe in the exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. I think it’s very important. Some people don’t. Follow your heart. But you have to get elected also and — because that has to do with other things. You’ve got to get elected.”

Trump accused Biden of supporting late-term abortions.

“He’s willing to, as we say, rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month and kill the baby,” Trump said. “Under Roe v. Wade, you have late term abortion. You can do whatever you want, depending on the state. You can do whatever you want. We don’t think that’s a good thing. We think it’s a radical thing.”

Biden denied it.

“You’re lying,” Biden said back. “That is simply not true. That, Roe v. Wade does not provide for that. That’s not the circumstance. Only when the woman’s life is in danger, if she’s going to die — that’s the only circumstance in which that can happen.”

Biden argued if “MAGA Republicans” were in control of Congress, they would push abortion bans for 10 weeks or earlier.

“I’ll veto it,” Biden said of such a ban. “He’ll sign it.”