Washington DC - Abortion and reproductive rights have been made a main focus of the 2024 presidential election, but where do the individual candidates fall on the issue?

Over the past few decades, abortion and reproductive rights have been major subjects of every US election.

Most of the conversation has been driven by either pro-life advocates – many of whom see abortion as murder, and life as a God-given right – or pro-choice advocates who argue that women should have a right to decide for themselves if they are ready to be mothers and what to do with their bodies.

Much of the focus on the issue this election cycle has surrounded the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, which made it so that individual states can create their own individual abortion laws.

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While pro-life advocates and lawmakers have argued that the move was the perfect middle ground to appease both pro-life and pro-choice advocates, a recent Pew Research Center poll found that the majority of Americans disapprove of the change.

Roe's overturning opened the doors for conservative lawmakers in many states to enact extreme abortion measures and in some cases ban it entirely.

Pro-choice advocates have argued that the mess has caused harm to women in those states, as many have had to rely on dangerous unregulated means to terminate their pregnancies or were forced to travel out of state for the procedure.

In some extreme cases, women have either died or had health issues after being denied the procedure despite there being the potential for harm to the mother or the child.

As the November election approaches, here is where the 2024 presidential candidates stand on abortion and reproductive rights.

Throughout his brief tenure in politics, Trump has pivoted a lot on the subject of abortion as he tries to maintain his support with Christian conservatives while also trying to gain support with women, a demographic he regularly polls poorly with.

During his presidential administration, Trump installed the three Supreme Court justices who went on to lead the charge to overturn Roe – an achievement the former president has since regularly bragged about.

In defense of the strategic move, Trump has argued that the entire country was against Roe v. Wade and prefers leaving it to the states.

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With abortion being a major issue of the 2024 race, Trump, who has said his administration will be "great" for reproductive rights, has sought to demonize the issue by insisting that Democrats support late-term and "after birth" abortions and the killing of babies.

In a Hail Mary attempt to appeal to female voters, Trump – who has called himself "the father of IVF" – recently vowed to provide free in-vitro fertilization treatment and promised not to sign a national abortion ban if he wins re-election.

Kamala Harris is vying to be the first female president of the US, and she has made abortion and reproductive rights a focus of her campaign.

Her strong stance that it should be up to a woman to decide what to do with her body and not the government has garnered her major celebrity endorsements from names like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish.

Throughout her campaign, Harris has regularly attacked Trump for his abortion rhetoric, describing him as the "architect" behind overturning Roe and arguing that this staunch difference between them "is why this election matters."

Last month, Harris said she would support eliminating the Senate filibuster in an effort to revive Roe v. Wade, which was overturned in June 2022.

She has yet to address whether she would codify abortion into law if she manages to revive Roe, something many critics have blamed Democrats for not committing to despite selling the issue to voters.

Of the four third-party candidates who will be on many ballots across the country, all of them agree that abortion is a right that women deserve, and some have vowed to codify it into law.

Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein recently shared in a social media post that she believes abortion access "is a human right" and bans on the procedure are "killing women."

She supports guaranteeing access to emergency contraception and abortion care and has called for birth control to be available at no cost to patients through universal healthcare coverage.

Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz has made attacking Democrats the focus of much of her abortion rhetoric, as she argues that Democrats have used the issue for years to win votes yet do nothing to codify it while in power.

Cruz believes abortion "is an essential part of women's healthcare" and argues the right was not won "because of a benevolent politician" but was instead "won in the streets!"

The campaign has also named a series of executive actions that the Biden administration could have taken to protect abortion access but didn't – actions that they would push for if elected.

Independent presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West says abortion rights should be codified as regressive legislation seeks to "undermine reproductive freedoms."

"It is a declaration that the sanctity of personal choice and autonomy over one's body is a principle as immutable as the Constitution itself," West shared on his website.

Libertarian presidential nominee Chase Oliver has said he believes women should be able "to make choices about their body, not government," adding that the issue "shouldn't be 'brought back to the states'" but should be "an individual choice."

The general election for president will take place on November 5, 2024, with early voting already underway in most states.