--- title: Why Split-Ticket Voters Must Keep Trump Accountable on Abortion description: Voters must remind U.S. political leaders of the truth in this election: that abortion is more popular than they are. canonical: https://time.com/7175541/keeping-trump-accountable-abortion-ban-essay/ author: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-11-12T17:17:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:44:42.431Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Split-Ticket Voters Must Keep Trump Accountable on Abortion og:description: Voters must remind U.S. political leaders of the truth in this election: that abortion is more popular than they are. og:url: https://time.com/7175541/keeping-trump-accountable-abortion-ban-essay/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1997ede7c30940cf/698a9c24d075333c0be77db7/prop-3-missouri-abortion-ballot-passed.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: prop-3-missouri-abortion-ballot-passed og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Split-Ticket Voters Must Keep Trump Accountable on Abortion twitter:description: Voters must remind U.S. political leaders of the truth in this election: that abortion is more popular than they are. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1997ede7c30940cf/698a9c24d075333c0be77db7/prop-3-missouri-abortion-ballot-passed.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Said He'd Veto a National Abortion Ban. Voters Should Hold Him to His Word > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=68bf67f5-a101-4a3b-a670-401cccfd9b38&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=68bf67f5-a101-4a3b-a670-401cccfd9b38&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=68bf67f5-a101-4a3b-a670-401cccfd9b38&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Idaho Court to Hear from Women Denied Abortions Amid Pregnancy Complications [Watch (HLS stream): Idaho Court to Hear from Women Denied Abortions Amid Pregnancy Complications](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fZ9Kswi1.m3u8) (6:31)  _Published 2024-11-11. An Idaho court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a lawsuit over the state’s near-total ban on abortion—one of the strictest laws in the country._ by [Jennifer Weiss-Wolf](https://time.com/author/jennifer-weiss-wolf/) and [Leslie Kantor](https://time.com/author/leslie-kantor/) Nov 12, 2024 5:17 PM UTC  Dominick Williams—The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service/ Getty Images Dominick Williams—The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service/ Getty Images Supporters and organizers of Amendment 3 and Proposition A, which grants the right to reproductive freedom, celebrate the results of the election at a watch party at Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Mo. on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. by [Jennifer Weiss-Wolf](https://time.com/author/jennifer-weiss-wolf/) and [Leslie Kantor](https://time.com/author/leslie-kantor/) Nov 12, 2024 5:17 PM UTC In the 2024 Presidential election, voters simultaneously cast their ballot for abortion rights and for President-elect Donald Trump. A new Rutgers School of Public Health [analysis](https://sph.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/2024-11/FINAL%20L%20Kantor%20abortion%20ballot%20measures%20and%20Harris%20%25%20Nov%202024.pdf) shows that support for abortion ballot initiatives exceeded support for Vice President Harris in every state in which there was a measure. Given Trump’s past full-throated claims of credit for the Supreme Court’s reversal of _Roe v. Wade_—and given how central abortion was to Vice President Harris’s campaign—the divergence has raised many an eyebrow. A [_New York Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/09/magazine/abortion-election-trump-ballot-measures.html) article on the “split screen” outcome indicates abortion did not amount to voters’ top priority, as compared to immigration and the economy. The ACLU’s Political Advocacy Officer Deirdre Schifeling [observed](https://time.com/7174962/abortion-rights-won-states-voted-trump/) a “cognitive dissonance” among voters, and Montana State University professor and political theorist Sara Rushing [suggested](https://time.com/7174962/abortion-rights-won-states-voted-trump/) casting mixed ballots were a way for voters to “have \[their\] cake and eat it too.” ### More From TIME Rushing further notes the impact of Trump’s attempt to soften his stance on abortion during the campaign, his awareness of its political potency. To shut down debate and distance himself, he asserted the centrality of state-by-state policy, [declaring](https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/08/politics/donald-trump-abortion-2024/index.html) on Truth Social: “The states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both. At the end of the day, this is all about the will of the people.” For voters who took Trump at his ([more recent](https://apnews.com/article/trump-abortion-election-2024-ivf-contraception-d91f0959087e803db390be11eb60975b)) word, the election outcomes are not just unsurprising, they also reinforce the bipartisan popularity of abortion rights. Since the [_Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization_](https://time.com/7024133/pregnancy-criminalization-post-dobbs/) ruling, ballot measures have passed in six states, even in unexpected places like Kansas. The 2024 election brought opportunities for an additional 10 states to have a direct voice. Meaning that for millions of voters, they were not just casting a ballot for abortion in their own state, but witnessing fellow citizens across a wide swath of the country do the same. **Read More:** [_Why Abortion Rights Won in Three States That Voted for Trump_](https://time.com/7174962/abortion-rights-won-states-voted-trump/) Against that backdrop, voters tuned in to the Trump campaign likely saw a system working exactly as they were told it would. Harris voters saw a continued catastrophe. Now all abortion supporters must contend with the reality of how a Trump administration paired with a Republican-led Senate (and possibly House)—plus a conservative supermajority at the Supreme Court, a dynamic of Trump’s making—could easily undo their will. For split-ticket voters who helped return Trump to the White House, this means accepting that there is much unfinished business to tend to. Even if Trump keeps his “word,” the federal government has multiple ways to ban abortion nationwide. Options range from the Department of Justice reviving enforcement of the long-dormant [Comstock Act](https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-comstock-act-implications-for-abortion-care-nationwide/) (an 1873 law, still on the books, that prohibits the mailing and receiving of materials used to produce abortions), to the Food and Drug Administration imposing further restrictions on prescribing abortion pills. Congress may pursue a national ban—or a “national minimum standard” to the [same effect](https://jessica.substack.com/p/what-happens-under-a-national-ban)—which the president could sign or veto. Split-ticket voters should be aware that even if their home state protects basic rights, they are not inoculated from the trickle-down effect of other states with bans. Abortion may still be hard to obtain, given higher demand or lack of meaningful access in many states even now, particularly for abortions beyond the first trimester of pregnancy. All pregnancies in the United States are more dangerous without abortion access. The domino effect will show up in the broader healthcare system. OB-GYNs and midwives have [left states](https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2024/maternity-care-providers-and-trainees-are-leaving-states-abortion-restrictions-further) with abortion bans; as medical students and residents go elsewhere to train, all reproductive care is harder to obtain. The people who provide care during the prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum period are the same people who provide abortions. Health insurance policy matters too. Trump’s actions when last in office included multiple attempts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has provided health insurance to close to 50 million people between 2014-2024\. Among the required services are well-woman care and access to contraception without a co-pay. These national requirements mean that people who have private health insurance also have these benefits. If the protections in the ACA or the ACA itself is overturned, the result will be less access to preventive care, including to prevent pregnancy—taking us full circle back to abortion. So what needs to happen—now and as the new administration begins? We can all help ensure abortion access by understanding the current status in our own state. We can call out misinformation, which is likely to proliferate. We can give to local abortion funds that help people afford care, including collateral costs like travel. And we can exert pressure and remind political leaders of the numbers in this election: abortion is more popular than they are. ## Transcript I When that 12 week ultrasound came up, we went in and we were given really grave news about our baby. And we were told that our baby wasn't going to survive the pregnancy and that the longer I stayed pregnant, the sicker I could become. And Um, and, you know, that was putting my life and my health at risk. And, you know, we already had a toddler to consider. When we were given basically given a sheet of clinics in nearby states that we could try to call, the sheet was outdated because of all the different changes that were happening. Um, in other states as well as in Idaho, but after spending a couple of days calling clinics and being put on at several places, weeks long waiting list, other places, we were not able to. You know, we were too far along at 20 weeks. And some of the clinics that we called had actually closed down, so it just felt like this really defeating battle that we were up against. But we did have a last minute cancellation, thankfully, for a clinic in Seattle that was able to get us in. I knew I was on I knew I was on a timeline. I knew that, you know, not only you know, the longer I stayed pregnant, the more sick I could become, but I also knew that the longer I stayed pregnant, the harder it would be to access abortion care because I would be further and further along in my pregnancy. So I knew that my options would become more and more limited. And so, you know, I was calling clinics as soon as I got home from the doctors. Office. And it was incredibly challenging because I was, you know, calling abortion clinics and trying to keep myself together, trying to explain my story to them and asking, you know, do you have appointments available? And, you know, so it was really challenging to be making these phone calls while still processing the fact that my baby was going to die. Nobody should have to go through their pregnancy, wondering, how am I going to flee somewhere else? Who is willing to take me and who is willing to provide medical care for me? That shouldn't be even a thought that crosses your mind when you're pregnant, you should just feel like you have confidence, you know, in the state that you live in that you can access proper medical care when needed. We always had it in the back of our minds that something could go wrong and that we would need to access care outside of the state. But even knowing that still doesn't prepare you for when it's actually happening. We're real women with real stories, and this happens to people that you know and love. You know, in addition to sharing those stories and hopefully, you know, that being a compelling reason for somebody to consider maybe their views on abortion. We are hoping to get some clarity on the ways that the laws are written and hopefully some exceptions as to when abortion is allowed in the state, especially in regard to the health of the mother or the health of the fetus. It's really thinking on the broader spectrum of being able to provide adequate health care for Idahoans when they need it within the state of Idaho, not airlifting patients out of the state, not trying to coordinate, you know, travel outside of the state, especially in a case of an emergency, but being able, giving providers and their patients the confidence to proceed with the health care that they know they need. Abortion care is healthcare and that's really the bottom line of this is that a lot of this comes down to, you know, being able to provide patients the care that they need when they need it, where they need it. And that's what's at stake here. We're hoping that, you know, this lawsuit provides better clarity so that physicians do feel comfortable and safe, being able to provide the healthcare options that they know are the most appropriate. I think the stakes are very high for women in the state, whether or not you feel like you would ever choose an abortion or you would make that choice for yourself or your family. It's likely going to affect people that you know and love, and women are becoming sick and women are dying in other states. So this is a very real risk, and this is just, I feel like, you know, just a tiny portion of what needs to change, but I'm hopeful that the case, you know, can do something positive in regard to that. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7175541/keeping-trump-accountable-abortion-ban-essay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7175541/keeping-trump-accountable-abortion-ban-essay/"},"headline":"Trump Said He'd Veto a National Abortion Ban. Voters Should Hold Him to His Word","datePublished":"2024-11-12T17:17:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:44:42.431Z","description":"Voters must remind U.S. political leaders of the truth in this election: that abortion is more popular than they are.","url":"https://time.com/7175541/keeping-trump-accountable-abortion-ban-essay/","keywords":["politics","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1997ede7c30940cf/698a9c24d075333c0be77db7/prop-3-missouri-abortion-ballot-passed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Weiss-Wolf","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-weiss-wolf/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Leslie Kantor","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/leslie-kantor/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1997ede7c30940cf/698a9c24d075333c0be77db7/prop-3-missouri-abortion-ballot-passed.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"prop-3-missouri-abortion-ballot-passed","caption":"US-NEWS-ELN-MO-ABORTION-LAWSUIT-KC","creditText":"Supporters and organizers of Amendment 3 and Proposition A, which grants the right to reproductive freedom, celebrate the results of the election at a watch party at Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Mo. on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7175541/keeping-trump-accountable-abortion-ban-essay/","name":"Trump Said He'd Veto a National Abortion Ban. Voters Should Hold Him to His Word"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Idaho Court to Hear from Women Denied Abortions Amid Pregnancy Complications","description":"An Idaho court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a lawsuit over the state’s near-total ban on abortion—one of the strictest laws in the country.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fZ9Kswi1/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-11-11T21:31:49.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fZ9Kswi1.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7175541/keeping-trump-accountable-abortion-ban-essay/","duration":"PT6M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7175541/keeping-trump-accountable-abortion-ban-essay/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```