Former Vice President Mike Pence stated that his former boss, ex-President Trump, has disappointed the Republican Party by not being in favor of enacting a national abortion ban if he gets elected in 2024.
Pence mentioned that the most important thing he achieved while serving as Trump’s VP was reversing the decision of Roe v. Wade. He also added that it's now saddening for him to see the former president move away from the pro-life stance.
In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Saturday, Pence expressed his deep disappointment when Trump said that he considered abortion to be an issue for individual states and would not sign a law preventing late-term abortions after 15 weeks, even if it was presented to him. The New York Times.
“No,” Trump said when asked by reporters in Georgia two weeks ago if he would sign a national abortion ban if it was approved by Congress and reached his desk if he is reelected.
Pence once again conveyed his discontent with Trump’s embrace of the stance that states should decide abortion policy. He previously called the former president’s position on the issue as a “slap in the face.”
The former governor of Indiana stated that he was aware of how committed Trump was to the pro-life movement while in office, but now Pence believes the former president is moving away from that position.
“He is leading other Republicans astray,” Pence wrote in the op-ed.
He referenced the case of Kari Lake, a Senate candidate in Arizona and a Trump supporter, backing the Republican endeavor to overturn the recent Supreme Court ruling in the state, which upheld a law from 1864 that would prohibit abortion from the moment of conception, with an exception only for saving the mother's life.
“An example of this is an Arizona Republican running for the U.S. Senate, who followed Trump’s lead and vowed to oppose a federal ban on late-term abortions,” Pence said. “When our leaders aren’t firmly committed to life, others will waver too. Courage inspires imitation. So does weakness.”
Pence stated that Republicans should not be concerned about the electoral repercussions of adopting a 15-week “minimum national standard.”
History has shown that when Republicans advocate for life without apology and contrast our sensible positions with the extremism of the pro-abortion left, voters recognize us with victories at the ballot box,” Pence wrote in the op-ed, mentioning Republican governors like Brian Kemp (Ga.), Greg Abbott (Texas) and Mike DeWine (Ohio) who were reelected even after signing bills limiting abortion after six weeks.
