Kamala Harris-Donald Trump debate: What they said about healthcare

When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met in their first presidential debate Tuesday night, they clashed over healthcare and abortion rights.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump clashed over abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act during their debate in Philadelphia Tuesday night.

The vice president and former president squared off at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. They went at it for several minutes over abortion, and Harris also talked about the difficulties doctors have in performing emergency care.

They also had heated exchanges over the Affordable Care Act and the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was some discussion of healthcare in Trump’s debate with President Biden in June, but those issues took a backseat to Biden’s disastrous performance during the debate, which prompted some Democrats to call for him to get out of the race. A month later, Biden announced he was not going to seek a second term, and Harris secured the Democratic presidential nomination.

In Tuesday’s debate, Harris and Trump argued over the economy, national security, immigration, and foreign policy, to be sure.

But their exchanges over abortion and the Affordable Care Act represented some of the most intense and memorable moments of the night.

Abortion rights

Harris hammered Trump on the issue of abortion rights.

“Now in over 20 states, there are Trump abortion bans, which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide healthcare,” Harris said.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in 2022, 21 states have enacted laws restricting abortion. Healthcare leaders have assailed state laws that they say have infringed on doctors and their ability to provide emergency abortion care when women are facing serious and even life-altering complications.

The vice president defended the rights of women to have an abortion, but she also pointed to state abortion laws making it difficult for doctors to provide emergency care. Harris highlighted women who experience complications during pregnancy and are unable to get the care they need.

“Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the healthcare providers are afraid they might go to jail and she's bleeding out in a car in the parking lot … She didn't want that. Her husband didn't want that,” Harris said.

Harris also decried legislation that doesn’t allow for abortion exceptions for sexual assault or incest. Ten states don’t make exceptions for sexual assault in legislation prohibiting abortions, according to a KFF analysis.

“A survivor of a crime of violation to their body does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next … that is immoral, and one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said.

“A 12- or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term … they don't want that,” Harris said.

Harris also pointed to women traveling to other states to get an abortion, even as they struggle to pay the cost.

Trump took credit for the Supreme Court ruling returning abortion to the states. The high court ruled that abortion is not a constitutional right and overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leaving the issue to the states.

The former president said he does support some restrictions on abortion. “I believe in the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” Trump said.

When asked if he would support or veto a national abortion ban, Trump said there won’t be such a vote because the issue is being decided at the state level. Trump didn’t answer another question on what he would do with a bill to ban abortions nationwide, and Harris asked him to say if he’d veto an abortion ban.

If elected, Harris said she’d sign legislation to restore Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to an abortion. Trump responded that Harris won’t be able to get Congress to send such legislation, and to be sure, Harris would need the House and Senate to pass such bills before she could sign abortion legislation.

Trump also claimed, falsely, that, “Every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican. … they all wanted this issue to be brought back to the states.”

Harris pushed back against Trump’s claim that most Americans wanted abortion to be left to the states. She pointed to states that have voted to preserve abortion rights since the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Ohio and Kansas voters have approved measures to preserve abortion access.

“The majority of Americans believe in a woman's right to make decisions about her own body. And that is why, in every state where this issue has been on the ballot, red and blue states … the people of America have voted for freedom,” Harris said.

A Pew Research poll in May 2024 found that 63% of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 36% said abortion should be illegal in all or most states.

Trump also reiterated false claims that Democrats, including Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, support killing babies after delivery. Killing a child after a birth is illegal in every state, as Politifact reports.

The Affordable Care Act

Trump was asked about his stance on the Affordable Care Act, and what he would do with the law if he wins a second term.

As president, Trump repeatedly sought to abolish the Affordable Care Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law. Of late, Trump has shifted his rhetoric on the Affordable Care Act, saying he wants to improve it for Americans, as he said in his debate with Biden in June.

On Tuesday night, the former president said, “Obamacare was lousy,” and added, “It’s not very good today.”

During the debate, Trump said he’s “looking at different things” regarding the Affordable Care Act.

“If we can come up with a plan that's going to cost our people, our population, less money and be better healthcare than Obamacare, then I would absolutely do it, but until then, I'd run it as good as it can be run,” Trump said.

When asked if he had a specific plan to improve the Affordable Care Act, Trump said he had “concepts of a plan. I'm not president right now.”

Trump added, “I would only change it if we come up with something that's better and less expensive. And there are concepts and options we have to do that, and you'll be hearing about it in the not-too-distant future.”

Even though Trump sought to abolish the Affordable Care Act throughout his presidency, he said during Tuesday night’s debate that he could have let it die, but that he opted to save it.

In response, Harris talked about her time in the U.S. Senate when Trump sought to kill the Affordable Care Act. She pointed out the late U.S. John McCain cast a critical vote to preserve the law.

“When Donald Trump was president, 60 times he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act,” Harris said.

Harris reiterated her commitment to preserving the Affordable Care Act.

“What the Affordable Care Act has done is eliminate the ability of insurance companies to deny people with pre-existing conditions,” Harris said. “I don't have to tell people watching tonight. You remember what that was like? Remember when an insurance company could deny if a child had asthma, if someone was a breast cancer survivor ... if a grandparent had diabetes?”

Affordable Care Act enrollment rose to more than 21 million people in 2024, a record, and nearly double the 11 million people in 2020, according to KFF. On Tuesday, the Biden administration hailed a milestone with nearly 50 million Americans securing coverage through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace over the past decade.

Harris also pointed to the Biden administration capping insulin prices at $35 for Medicare beneficiaries. She also highlighted the Biden administration establishing a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, which is slated to take effect for Medicare enrollees in 2025.

“When I am President, we will do that for all people,” she said.

“Access to healthcare should be a right, and not just a privilege,” Harris said, adding, “The plan has to be to strengthen the Affordable Care Act.”

Harris was asked about her previous support for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposal to do away with private insurance and create a government loan health care system.

Harris said she supports private health insurance options, and she said that she has during her time as vice president.

The pandemic

On Tuesday night, Harris and Trump talked about something scarcely mentioned in the first debate: the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harris pointed to the pandemic that swept America in 2020, saying, “Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century.”

Harris pointed to the economic damage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, although it should be said that countries around the globe suffered economically due to the pandemic.

Conversely, Trump pointed to making ventilators widely available as well as gowns and other supplies. “We did a phenomenal job with the pandemic,” he said.

Trump did not highlight the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, which occurred during his final year in office. He’s largely distanced himself from that accomplishment. The Biden administration distributed vaccines nationwide during his first year in office.

The vice president also mentioned, albeit briefly, something that also wasn’t mentioned in the Biden-Trump debate: artificial intelligence. Harris said America must “win the race on AI and quantum computing.”

Beyond healthcare, Trump again downplayed the Jan. 6 insurrection, and denied that he encouraged his supporters to act violently. Harris said she was in the Capitol on Jan. 6, accused Trump of inciting violence and noted the 140 law enforcement members who were assaulted, and the deaths of some officers.

Trump again denied that he lost the 2020 election. Conversely, Harris said 81 million Americans fired Trump four years ago.

It's unclear if there will be another debate. Late Tuesday night, the Harris campaign called for a second debate. On Fox News, Trump did not commit to a second debate and said that the Harris campaign is seeking another debate because "they lost" Tuesday night.