Donald Trump says repeatedly that doctors ready to ‘rip the baby out of the womb of the mother’ in final days of pregnancy under Hillary Clinton’s policies

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Hillary Clinton condemned Donald Trump’s “scare rhetoric” on abortion after he repeatedly claimed her position meant doctors would be able to “rip the baby out of the womb of the mother” on the day prior to its birth.

The Republican nominee used the graphic language as the pair clashed over the future of the US supreme court and whether he supported overturning Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the United States.

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Trump, who has vowed to nominate pro-life justices to the court as president, said the ruling would “automatically” be overturned if he was elected.

During their final encounter on the presidential debate stage, Trump sought to paint a grotesque picture of Clinton’s support for access to abortion.

He said of the Democratic nominee: “If you go with what Hillary is saying, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby.”

“You can say that that is OK and Hillary can say that that is OK, but it’s not OK with me.

“Based on what she is saying and based on where she’s going and where she’s been,” he added, “you can take baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day. That’s not acceptable.”

Clinton countered that her stance on the issue was about protecting a woman’s right to choose, while pointing out that late-term abortions were rare.

“Using that kind of scare rhetoric is just terribly unfortunate,” Clinton said of her opponent.

“This is one of the worst possible choices that any woman and her family has to make, and I do not believe the government should be making it.”

Drawing from her record as former secretary of state, Clinton noted she had traveled to countries where governments either forced women to undergo abortions or in other cases to bear children.

“I can tell you the government has no business in the decisions that women make with their families in accordance with their rights,” Clinton said. “And I will stand up for that right.”

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While Americans are broadly split on the topic of abortion, a majority of the public supports upholding Roe v Wade.

Republicans have repeatedly campaigned on tearing down the supreme court’s decision. Trump has floated doing as much on the campaign trail and chose as his running mate Mike Pence, who as the governor of Indiana enacted some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. He has also pledged to defund the women’s health organization Planned Parenthood and earlier this year said women should be “punished” for having abortions – a statement he walked back but that Clinton raised at the debate.

Trump’s record on abortion is itself mixed, as he once described himself as “very pro-choice”.