Here's Where 2020 Candidates Actually Stand On Abortion Rights

Welcome to Got Issues?, MTV News’s candidate-by-candidate breakdown of your biggest concerns and questions about the 2020 race.


Despite what buzzy headlines might tell you, abortion isn’t all that divisive an issue; the vast majority of Residents of the
U.S. Support Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that ruled a person is entitled to have an abortion before a fetus reaches the point of “viability,” and that making such a choice is their constitutional right. The percentage of Residents of the
U.S. Who have contained that belief has, for the most part, remained steady for years, however that hasn’t stopped lawmakers from trying to push restrictive legislation that makes accessing abortion almost impossible for millions of people.


Though people sought abortions well before the 1973 Supreme Court case, the procedures were often done in secret, and without much regulation. Untold numbers of people suffered. And although abortion services are safer than ever, the procedure is still widely stigmatized. As more and more people speak up about their experiences and decisions, the procedure is taking up more space in a larger social and political dialogue — and if you’re running for president this year, it’s likely you’ll be asked your thoughts on abortion rights by at least one potential voter.


So where do the 2020 candidates stand on people’s abilities to create decisions for their own bodies lives? And why does each candidate plan to bolster —  or in some cases, decimate — certain provisions and amendments related to reproductive health? Here’s your breakdown.


Editor’s note: Throughout this article we refer to pregnant people and people who can become pregnant. Several candidates refer primarily to girls in their campaign and policy language, yet the reproductive rights of trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer people have also been under attack for years. We have made efforts to rectify language where possible.


Michael Bennet


Does he have an official policy on abortion? Not yet


The pro-choice Colorado Senator doesn’t have a policy on abortion on his website, nevertheless he has plenty of past work to show for it: He actually won his Senate seat in 2010 by attacking his opponent’s anti-choice stance. He co-sponsored the Women's Health Protection Act of 2015, a bill meant to “protect a [person’s] right to decide whether and any time to bear a child or end a pregnancy by limiting restrictions on the provision of abortion services.” It did not pass. He called the Hyde Amendment, which stipulates that federal funds cannot be used toward abortion services except in extreme cases, “federally sanctioned discrimination” and mentioned it is “wrong and should be overturned immediately.” He did, although, vote for a massive bill, which funded a big chunk of the government last year and included provisions that excluded any of the federal cash from being used on abortions. He voted against the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” that would have banned abortions past 20 weeks, wants birth control covered by insurance, supports federally funding Offered Parenthood and other family member planning clinics, and procured a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL in 2018.


Joe Biden


Does he have an official policy on abortion? Sort of?


In early June, Biden was met with a lot of blowback as soon as the former Vice President indicated that he still supported the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which stipulates that federal funds cannot be used toward abortion services except in extreme cases. (Given the breakdown of who is most likely to receive healthcare from programs like Medicaid, the amendment largely affects lower-income people, and also people of color.) He speedily changed his stance, making him the last Democratic presidential contender to publicly oppose the law; Vox notes that spokespeople credit the shift to the state-level push by some lawmakers to ban abortion altogether as piece the purpose of the move. Biden’s healthcare plan includes language promising to “protect the constitutional right to an abortion,” and promises to repeal the Hyde Amendment, fight targeted restrictions on abortion providers (also referred to as TRAP laws), and dismantle waiting periods and other hoops that create a undue burden on pregnant people seeking abortion care. Such stances are a far cry from his past votes and views as a U.S. Senator; in 1981, he voted in favor of allowing states to overturn Roe v. Wade, and has also voted for spending costs that included the Hyde Amendment and other limitations in their language.


Cory Booker


Does he have an official policy on abortion? Yep!


The Senator’s reproductive-rights plan outlines his support for Roe v. Wade, and promises that if elected, he’d end the “global gag rule” that bars healthcare providers who receive Title X funding from distributing patients with references to abortion services, even if they ask for it explicitly. He also mentioned he would work to repeal the Hyde Amendment, despite voting for a massive bill in 2018 with similar provisions tacked onto it. He says he wants to reinstate the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program to its original purpose of supporting young people’s sexual health. (The Trump administration has shifted the interpretation concentrate on an abstinence-only model, although such methodologies are largely ineffective at best.) As Vox notes, Booker also believes that cisgender boys need to join the fight to protect abortion rights. “Don’t tell me just because you have a partner or a mother or a daughter, that that’s how you relate to this. You have a body,” he told an audience at a Offered Parenthood forum in June. He procured a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL in 2018.


Steve Bullock


Does he have an official policy on abortion? Not really?


While the Montana governor says in his healthcare plan that he would support Title X funding to strengthen reproductive rights for marginalized communities, his policy does not say abortion outright. Even so, he supports repealing the Hyde Amendment, which he indicated at an event in Ames, Iowa, this past May. He’s also done plenty of work in the efforts of protecting Title X in his residence state, and supports codifying Roe v. Wade into law on its own merit. (The Supreme Court ruled that the correct to an abortion was constitutional yet politicians have nevertheless to pass legislation affirming that jurisdiction.) “I would mention that life starts at viability,” he also mentioned in May, per The Hill, which wades into some sticky territory associated with anti-abortion rhetoric and language. He followed that personalized belief up with a major caveat, however: “Either way, it's not up to people like me to be making these decisions. It's not what I think, it's what does a single woman need to do with her body and with her healthcare.”


Pete Buttigieg


Does he have an official policy on abortion? Not yet


Buttigieg has although to fill in the piece of his healthcare policy breakdown that will seemingly be serious about “women’s health” and ostensibly lend space to abortion access, and he hasn’t had to do much legislating in the space as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He has been vocal about how abortion is a distribute that affects people of all genders, though, and he has indicated support for Title X funding, repealing the Hyde Amendment, and ensuring that the conversation surrounding abortion access does not play into conservative gotcha-style talking points. “The dialogue has gotten so caught up in where you draw the line. I trust females to draw the line,” he mentioned in May.


Julián Castro


Does he have an official policy on abortion? Yep!


Castro’s plan is rooted in the idea of “reproductive justice,” and is one of the few plans to highlight the issues that trans and nonbinary people might face if they seek abortion care, also. He also brought up trans reproductive rights while in a presidential primary debate in June; if he notably gaffed on the nuances, he apologized for misspeaking after. He supports repealing the Hyde Amendment, bolstering other healthcare firms so that they are free and supported in supplying abortion services to marginalized groups, ending the global gag rule, and only appointing judges that respect and affirm Roe v. Wade as law. “All girls should have access to reproductive care, without consideration of their revenue or the state they reside in. Abortion care is health care,” he tweeted in June.


John Delaney


Does he have an official policy on abortion? Yep


did you realize John Delaney has four daughters, and is thereby required to care about your reproductive rights? Because he’d like you to know, which is likely why he started off his commitment to women's rights on his website by informing you that he is, indeed, the father of four daughters. He says he is pro-choice, supports codifying Roe v. Wade, and supports repealing the Hyde Amendment, despite voting for a massive bill in 2018 with a similar provision tacked onto it. He also pledges to protect federal funding to groups like Suggested Parenthood. His suggested universal healthcare system would also codify abortion care as segment of reproductive healthcare, just as it would pre- and postnatal care. “Decisions involving women’s reproductive health should be made by the woman and her doctor, not politicians,” he mentioned in a statement released in May, soon after state legislatures in Alabama and Georgia tried to force restrictive bans that undermined Roe v. Wade. “Banning legal abortions will not stop abortions, it only helps in avoiding ladies from having safe abortions.” He procured a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL in 2018.


Tulsi Gabbard


Does she have an official policy on abortion? Not yet


Gabbard doesn’t hope to tell you what to do with your body, yet it took a while for her to get there; abortion is one a number of issues on which the Representative from Hawaii has had a change of heart (as Rolling Stone noted in January, she was once anti-choice). Right now, she says she would support allowing federal funds to be used toward abortion services, yet voted for a massive bill in 2018 that included provisions to exclude any of the federal cash from being used on abortions, and this year voted for HR 2740, a massive spending bill that included the Hyde Amendment within its language (it passed 226-203, and has since been contained up by the Senate). Her website points to a few quotes she’s given that stress “protect[ing] women’s right to choose,” however she hasn't not provided more comprehensive policies as of publish time. In the past, she’s voted to protect Title X funding. She acquired a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL in 2018.


Kamala Harris


Does she have an official policy on abortion? Yep


For Harris, the conversation about abortion rights exists under the umbrella of gender equality. Her website states that she would work to “protect Proposed Parenthood from Republican attempts to defund key health services, nominate judges who respect Roe v. Wade, and immediately roll back dangerous and discriminatory rules set up by President Trump to quota access to contraception and safe abortion In the
U.S. And about the world.” She is in favor of repealing the Hyde Amendment, despite voting for a massive bill in 2018 with a similar provision tacked onto it. She supports codifying Roe v. Wade and restoring Title X funding to Offered Parenthood and other groups that distribute abortion services. She has also introduced an abortion rights plan that would put states that have attempted to pass restrictive abortion requirements on notice; they would have to seek approval by her Justice Department before enacting any state-level laws or policies. She acquired a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL in 2018.


Amy Klobuchar


Does she have an official policy on abortion? Not really


Klobuchar’s website is vague about its promises with regard to reproductive rights, and talks about them specifically because the distribute pertains to girls. In her plan for her first 100 days if elected President, she promises to end the global gag rule, reinstate Title X funding to Recommended Parenthood and other groups that provide abortion services, and work to codify Roe v. Wade. She has also joined Senators Harris, Gillibrand, and Warren in co-sponsoring legislation that would overturn the Hyde Amendment, although, as well as all three of the Senators, voted in favor of a massive bill in 2018 with a similar provision tacked onto it. She acquired a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL in 2018.


Wayne Messam