John,

Tonight is debate night, but Donald Trump lies so predictably about abortion rights that we’re sending you a fact check before the debate. As he spews his signature mix of word salad and disinformation, here are five key facts you should know.

1. If elected, Trump will continue his destruction of abortion access. We can’t fall for recent attempts to backpedal. He bragged about overturning Roe, deliberately installed hundreds of anti-abortion judges, pledged support for a national ban, and gutted Title X funding. His anti-choice record speaks for itself.


2. Trump can effectively ban abortion without an act of Congress. He’s previously supported a national ban, and the truth is, he doesn’t need to pick up a pen to do it. Trump could ban abortion by directing his Department of Justice to enforce the Comstock Act, a zombie law from the 1800s designed to block the distribution of abortion medication —regardless of what happens in Congress.


3. Despite what Trump says, Roe was widely popular. Trump continues to peddle the outrageous lie that ‘everyone wanted’ a reversal of Roe. Let’s be clear: voters did not ask for this. An overwhelming majority of Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe.


4. ‘Letting the states decide’ is not a solution. Since the overturning of Roe, we’ve seen infant death rates skyrocket in states like Texas, pregnant women routinely airlifted out of states like Idaho, and emergency room doctors sound the alarm in states like Louisiana. And when organized efforts to restore abortion rights through ballot initiatives gain momentum, Trump-allied politicians do everything they can to block the will of the people. We saw it last year in Ohio, and we see it now in places like Missouri.


5. Kamala Harris is the only pro-choice candidate on that stage. Vice President Harris has been in this fight for a long time, first in local and state office; then in the Senate, and for the past three years, as Vice President. She has a deep understanding of reproductive freedom as an intersectional and economic issue, and she’s positioned to be the most pro-choice president in history.