Where did Donald Trump get the idea that abortions happen on the due date?

His comments on abortion were a teensy bit inaccurate.

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In the third and final presidential debate, the candidates were finally asked about abortion.

With a seat on the Supreme Court waiting to be filled, the winner of the election will play a pretty huge role in determining the future of safe and legal abortion in the U.S. For months, abortion rights groups have been urging moderators to broach the subject. On Wednesday night, they got their wish.

The candidates' basic positions are known: Hillary Clinton is in favor of reinforcing the legal protections afforded by the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision while Donald Trump has vowed to appoint justices he believes will overturn that decision.

Harder to discern was whatever Trump was trying to say about late-term abortions.

Wait, what? GIF from CNN/YouTube.

What Trump described wasn't an abortion at all. He described giving birth.

It should go without saying that no, you cannot get an abortion "in the ninth month on the final day." Even if that were possible, it's not legal, thanks to the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

There is no such thing as a ninth month abortion - I'm a doctor who trained in late term abortions #debate2016

— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) October 20, 2016

People on social media were quick to jump on Trump's claim about ripping babies from wombs.

I still remember the day, 8 and a half months into my pregancy when drs ripped my baby from my womb. Back then we just called it birth tho

— Ally (@disconairobi) October 20, 2016

FYI: "ripping baby from womb in 9th month" is called C-section. #VaginaEducation

— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) October 20, 2016

My daughter was ripped from my wife’s womb at 7 months because her water broke. 14 years later she is watching debate now http://pic.twitter.com/IuyVQzdruh

— Michael Walling (@michaelwalling) October 20, 2016

Actually, if you rip a baby out of the womb at 40 weeks, the baby is generally fine. It's also probably a c-section

— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers) October 20, 2016

My son was "ripped from my wife's womb" 3 wks early. Guess my now 14 mo. old boy is an abortion according to @realDonaldTrump #DebateNight

— Jason (@Jakron) October 20, 2016

While it's one thing to poke fun at Trump's statement, it's frightening to think that he's not alone in his misconceptions and spread of misinformation.

During a February Republican primary debate, Sen. Marco Rubio said, "Why doesn’t the media ask Hillary Clinton why she believes that all abortions should be legal, even on the due date of that unborn child?" (She doesn't.)

Meanwhile, Carly Fiorina went with this graphic lie:

In a September 2015 debate, GOP candidate Carly Fiorina described a video that purported to show an abortion. No video that matches her description exists. GIF via CNN/YouTube.

Last month, Sen. Ted Cruz claimed that Hillary Clinton "supports unlimited abortion on demand up until the moment of birth, including partial-birth abortion, with taxpayer funding." (She doesn't.)

The truth is that just 1.2% of abortions occur after 20 weeks of pregnancy, many of which are wanted pregnancies that either involve a threat to the life of the mother or would be fatal for the fetus.

There's a lot of stigma surrounding abortion, and misrepresenting what abortion actually is doesn't help anyone.

Whatever your position on abortion — whether you're of the mindset that it should be legal in all instances, in some instances, or not at all — can we at least agree that these arguments are best made when they are based in fact? There is no such thing as a nine-month abortion, nor are there videos showing brains being harvested.

@realDonaldTrump I had a baby "ripped" from my womb at 9 months. I don't think @ParadiseDisturb would appreciate being called an abortion.

— P&S Jo (@PandS_music) October 20, 2016

Hey @realDonaldTrump, my baby was ripped from my womb 7 days before birth; we called it a c-section, called the baby Chip, and he's w/HRC.

— Patricia Wilson (@PAWilson) October 20, 2016

Misrepresenting those who do need a late-term abortion (for whatever reason) doesn't help advance political discourse either. And conflating birth by cesarean section with a partial-birth abortion makes you look a tiny bit on the foolish side.

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