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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

In his 2024 presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump has said states should decide whether, in certain instances, to prosecute women who get an abortion.

In April, Trump said in a video that states should determine abortion law and that he supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. He told Time magazine that states should decide whether women who get an abortion after a specified number of weeks should be prosecuted.

The criminalization claim was made in a TV ad featuring a Wisconsin woman that was released May 13, 2024, by American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic super PAC.

The ad cited Trump’s 2016 comment while campaigning in Wisconsin that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who get an abortion.

Later that day, Trump’s campaign said Trump meant to say that if abortion were outlawed, doctors who perform abortions should be punished.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Truth Social: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

Time magazine: Read the Full Transcripts of Donald Trump’s Interviews with Time

American Bridge 21st Century: AB21 Ads Spring 2024: Anna

PolitiFact: In Context: Transcript of Donald Trump on punishing women for abortion

NBC News: A timeline of Trump’s many, many positions on abortion

Washington Post: Democratic group starts attacking Trump with abortion rights testimonials

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Does Donald Trump want to criminalize women who get an abortion?

by Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch
May 15, 2024

<h1>Does Donald Trump want to criminalize women who get an abortion?</h1>
<p class="byline">by Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch <br />May 15, 2024</p>

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<p><em><em><a href="https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/">Wisconsin Watch</a></em> partners with&nbsp;<a href="https://gigafact.org/">Gigafact</a>&nbsp;to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. <a href="https://wisconsinwatch.org/2023/05/how-wisconsin-watch-checks-claims-for-its-gigafact-fact-briefs/">Read our methodology</a> to learn how we check claims.</em></p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">No.</h2>
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<p>In his 2024 presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump has said states should decide whether, in certain instances, to prosecute women who get an abortion.</p>
<p>In April, Trump said in a&nbsp;video&nbsp;that states should determine abortion law and that he supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. He&nbsp;told&nbsp;Time magazine that states should decide whether women who get an abortion after a specified number of weeks should be prosecuted.</p>
<p>The criminalization claim was made in a&nbsp;TV ad&nbsp;featuring a&nbsp;Wisconsin&nbsp;woman that was released May 13, 2024, by American Bridge 21st Century, a&nbsp;Democratic&nbsp;super PAC.</p>
<p>The ad cited Trump’s 2016&nbsp;comment&nbsp;while campaigning in Wisconsin that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who get an abortion.</p>
<p>Later that day, Trump’s campaign said Trump meant to say that if abortion were outlawed, doctors who perform abortions should be punished.</p>
<p><em>This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeEYmhXDr-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this one</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>Sources</strong></p>
<p>Truth Social: <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112235238031827342" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)</a></p>
<p>Time magazine: <a href="https://archive.is/pKSln" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read the Full Transcripts of Donald Trump's Interviews with Time</a></p>
<p>American Bridge 21st Century: <a href="https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/VeEYmhXDr-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AB21 Ads Spring 2024: Anna</a></p>
<p>PolitiFact: <a href="https://archive.is/pK3P9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In Context: Transcript of Donald Trump on punishing women for abortion</a></p>
<p>NBC News: <a href="https://archive.is/5fJ4Y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A timeline of Trump's many, many positions on abortion</a></p>
<p>Washington Post: <a href="https://archive.is/juvfI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Democratic group starts attacking Trump with abortion rights testimonials</a></p>
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<p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/05/abortion-donald-trump-women-wisconsin-criminalize-fact-brief/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org&quot;&gt;Wisconsin Watch&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=100&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p>
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Does Donald Trump want to criminalize women who get an abortion?

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