Hello Fellow Netizens!
As the title suggests, this article is dedicated to the first Presidential debate that occurred last night between President Biden and former president Donald Trump. Here are some of the public health highlights from the debates:
Abortion
On the issue of reproductive health, the recent ruling on Idaho’s case regarding emergency abortions was mentioned. Mr. Trump was asked if he would block abortion medications given the context that more than half of abortions are still completed using medications like mifepristone. His response was no, that he deferred to the Supreme Court on their decisions and still wants to place decisions for the states on abortion. Mr. Trump brought up his belief that the people (not the government) have the right to decide. During the debate, he explicitly stated that he personally supports adding exceptions in anti-abortion legislation for rape or incest (it should be noted that his stance on abortion has shifted throughout the campaign from his prior life away from politics).
President Biden retorted during the exchange that Mr. Trump is more concerned with other issues like criminalizing undocumented noncitizens rather than focusing on women’s health. President Biden plans to restore Roe v. Wade as the rule of the land on the issue of abortion. Related to this, President Biden was asked what he believes are acceptable legal term limits for abortion to which he referenced the limits imposed under Roe v. Wade as what he accepts as viable termination limits. He explained the trimester rule that organized abortion limits as a woman’s pregnancy progresses:
- First trimester: the decision to terminate a pregnancy is solely at the discretion of the mother
- Second trimester: the state can regulate, but not ban, abortion services in the interest of the mother’s health
- Third trimester: once the fetus has progressed to this stage, the state can outlaw the termination of this pregnancy unless the life or health of the mother is at significant risk
One item that I would like to make clear in this article is a claim that Mr. Trump stated regarding Roe v. Wade:
Under Roe v. Wade, you have late-term abortion. You can do whatever you want depending on the state – you can do whatever you want. We don’t think that’s a good thing. We think that’s a radical thing. We think that the Democrats are the radicals, not the Republicans.
Donald Trump, 2024 CNN Presidential Debate
President Biden reacted strongly to the statement, defending Roe v. Wade and clarifying that he is personally against late-term abortions. From a health policy perspective, late-term abortions are very uncommon (accounting for only 1 percent of all abortions) and are usually a last resort treatment for women with serious medical complications. Even if a woman wants to have a late-term abortion, it is extremely cost-prohibitive and not that many providers are willing or trained to perform such a procedure. KFF has an article detailing these facts, which indicate that Mr. Trump’s statement was just plainly inaccurate and said without context.
Child Care
The cost of child care was brought up during the debate; an article from the US Census has seen that costs can go as high as $24,000 dollars (this figure is specific to Washington D.C. by the way). Mr. Trump was asked how he would decrease child care costs if elected as President. He did not respond to the question directly (unsurprisingly) and instead went off tangent on border security. His track record speaks little to his possible performance if he was elected President. President Biden proposed increasing child tax credits, helping single parents with obtaining jobs, and encourage businesses to help with parental care (this last point was not clarified due to timing cuts during the debate). President Biden has proposed similar ideas with his Build Back Better initiative, although it was stalled in Congress and never passed into law.
Opioid Crisis
According to the moderator question, under both the Trump and Biden administrations death rates due to opioid overdoses have increased (this claim is supported by data from the Centers for Disease Control [CDC]). Mr. Trump was asked what he would do to help address the issue if he were elected as President (in the words of the moderator, help Americans in the “throws of addiction”). In his usual fashion, Mr. Trump went off tangent and focused on tariffs, China and Russia. When pressed on the issue again, Mr. Trump claimed that his administration was doing “well” with the crisis, even stating that they had “very low numbers” of overdose deaths until the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their work. Mr. Trump puts blame of the crisis squarely on the border via the smuggling of illegal drugs.
Mr. Trump’s claims, to be honest, lack any factual basis. The Lancet published a great article looking at the state of the opioid crisis during the 2020 elections and compared each of the candidate’s positions then. It brought up some items that contradict what much of Mr. Trump claimed, specifically on the issue of how his administration handled the opioid crisis.
- Mr. Trump repeatedly tried (and failed) to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA; otherwise known as Obamacare) – the ACA is a crucial healthcare line for millions of Americans, and its repeal would take away much needed care for hundreds of thousands seeking opioid addiction treatment. Even with his previous failed attempts, Mr. Trump continues to support repealing the ACA and plans on pushing for it if voted back into the White House.
- Mr. Trump repeatedly proposed slashing the budget of the Office of National Drug Control Policy by 95 percent – this office is crucial in managing any federal response to the opioid crisis, which seemed counterintuitive to Mr. Trump’s supposed views on controlling the rising overdose deaths in the United States during his administration
President Biden spoke of fentanyl machines in the border as part of his administration’s solution to ending the crisis, although it has been reported that the installation on these scanners had stalled due to lack of federal funding. He also referenced previous legislative deals regarding the border which would help tackle the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, which was ultimately defeated due to opposition by Mr. Trump for political reasons.
Personal Analysis
The debate was (in my opinion) lackluster at best, and frustrating at worst. Much of the post-debate discussion was around President Biden’s personal performance, although I would personally focus more on the substance of the debate and what each candidate has to offer if elected for another term. KFF published a comprehensive analysis of each candidate’s health policy platform (check it out here), and based on my personal analysis President Biden has more to offer on matters regarding our nation’s healthcare system and general public health. However, it remains to be seen what will happen in the coming months ahead before the November elections take place.
But what do you think, fellow Netizens? Does President Biden shine on his public health platform, or do you agree more on Mr. Trump’s vision? Feel free to share and comment below! Stay tuned for more articles and until next time!
Featured Image: Joe Biden: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (source: Joe Biden); User:TDKR Chicago 101 (clipping)Donald Trump: Shealah Craighead (source: White House)Сombination: krassotkin, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s own opinions and statements. They do not reflect the opinions or stances of any organization affiliated with the author
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