As Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign continues to prepare for her first (and likely only) debate against former President Donald Trump, the campaign is launching a new ad series focused on one of Trump’s weakest policy areas: abortion.

Recent polling from ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos shows prospective voters polled trust Harris more with the issue of abortion. Meanwhile, Trump has been spinning to catch up, tweaking positions on issues such as abortion and in vitro fertilization.

What You Need To Know

  • The Harris campaign will launch a new ad series focused on one of the Trump campaign's greatest policy weaknesses: abortion

  • Three ads, using Trump's own words against him and sharing the stories of women affected by his previous policies, will launch ahead of Tuesday's debate

  • Trump's position on abortion has shifted as he hopes to cut into Harris's lead among voters, though he's continued taking credit for overturning Roe v. Wade with his Supreme Court appointments

  • The ads are part of the Harris campaign's $370 million ad buy running through election day
 

Last week, he said he believed Florida’s six-week abortion ban was too restrictive, before pledging to vote against enshrining abortion protections into the state’s constitution. He also vowed the government would cover the cost of IVF treatments, should he be elected.

The Harris campaign, then, is looking to use his own interviews against him before centering women whose lives and families were at risk owing to the consequences of Trump’s previous reproductive rights policies.

The first ad, “Told Us,” uses Trump’s own words from an interview where he said he was “proud” to have overturned Roe v. Wade with his appointment of conservative justices to the Supreme Court. 

The second, entitled “Big Family,” features Latorya Beasley of Alabama, who tells the audience that she had plans to grow her family via in vitro fertilization, but that her embryo transfer was put on hold following the overturning of Roe. 

The third ad, “Laurel,” features Laurel Marcinkus of Kenosha, Wis., who says she almost died when doctors were afraid to treat her when she needed abortion care.

“Told Us” will run on traditional, over-the-air television in battleground media markets, targeting high-viewership moments like the fall return of popular primetime programming, according to the campaign, while “Laurel” and “Big Family” will air on digital platforms like Hulu, Roku, YouTube, Paramount, Spotify and Pandora.

The three ads are part of the campaign’s $370 million paid media campaign through Election Day to reach voters online, on radio, and on television.

The campaign says Harris will make the choice clear during Tuesday’s debate that reproductive rights and other personal freedoms are at stake. 

Honing in on reproductive rights has been a key part of the Harris-Walz campaign’s strategy, including a “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour that launched Tuesday and will span the country over the next several weeks.

“Donald Trump is a fundamental threat to reproductive freedom — and you don’t have to take our word for it — Trump said it himself. In fact, he’s said again and again that he’s ‘proud’ that he overturned Roe — a ruling which has harmed countless women, including Latorya and Laurel,” said Harris-Walz spokesperson Lauren Hitt in a statement. 

“We know if Trump’s elected, he’ll go even further, enacting the extreme Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion nationwide and attack access to contraception and IVF. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are fighting to restore reproductive freedom in all 50 states because they trust women to make the right decisions for their families.”