Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, expressed her stance on abortion in a detailed online post following the national attention to the Arizona Supreme Court's abortion law on Tuesday.
“People are inquiring about my thoughts on abortion,” Shanahan’s post on X, formerly Twitter, began.
Shanahan, recently named Kennedy’s vice-presidential candidate, is a mother to one child with Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
She mentioned that as a mother, she doesn’t “like the feeling of anyone controlling her body.” As a woman, she stated that she “would not feel comfortable ending a viable life” inside her, particularly if she and the fetus were healthy.
“I can uphold both beliefs, as someone who believes in the sanctity of life, at the same time,” she said.
The Arizona Supreme Court Tuesday upheld a law from 1864 that makes performing an abortion a felony, reigniting the debate about reproductive rights following the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade.
The Arizona law overturns a 15-week abortion ban and has no exceptions for rape or incest. The only exception is “when it is necessary” to save the life of the pregnant person.
Shanahan mentioned in her post that there are “a number of extenuating circumstances” that would lead her to get an abortion, including her health, the health of the baby, and “what happens to that baby if that baby is being born into a situation that cannot sustain a good and healthy life.”
“In situations involving economic considerations, I support bringing babies into the world through community support for BOTH mother and baby. I believe all mothers carrying a healthy baby want what is best for their baby,” she said. “Let’s help them do just that.”
The new vice-presidential candidate stated that she and Kennedy are “committed to shedding light on solutions in the best interest of mother and baby.”
