EXCLUSIVE — Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is running for president in 2024, is confident that with the right messaging and a healthy dose of compassion, he can convince a broad coalition of the public to support a 15-week limit on abortion.
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, which overturned landmark abortion decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Pence spoke exclusively with the Washington Examiner about the state of abortion policy in the post-Roe era.
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"I'm proud of the progress that's been made in states around the country, including my home state of Indiana, advancing the cause of the unborn," he said. After the summer 2022 ruling in Dobbs, Indiana became the first state to pass a law banning nearly all abortions. Gov. Eric Holcomb (R-IN) signed Senate Bill 1 in August 2022, making abortion illegal except in circumstances of rape, incest, serious health risk to the mother, or lethal fetal anomaly.
While Pence sees promise in the laws passed in some red states across the country, he is adamant that "we haven't come to the end of this cause."
"We've just come to the end of the beginning," he explained. "And now, it's incumbent on us to continue to advance, not only protections for the unborn, but support for women facing crisis pregnancies."
Asked about former President Donald Trump's claim of being the "most pro-life president" and taking credit for the decision in Dobbs, his former vice president said, "The Trump-Pence administration was the most pro-life administration in American history."
"We not only appointed three Supreme Court justices, but we advanced the cause of the unborn at home and abroad, like no administration in history," he continued.
However, Pence is unsure about Trump's posture on the issue following his time in office. "To see my former running mate now blaming the pro-life movement for election losses in the midterms and saying that certain state legislation is too harsh I think is a departure from the commitment to the right to life that was at the center of our administration," he said.
Trump isn't the only one that Pence says is backing down on the issue of abortion.
"There are also a number of candidates, my former running mate and others, who have suggested that the Supreme Court only returned the question of abortion to the states and it should not be dealt with at the federal level," he said. "I take a strongly different view, and as I said today at the Faith and Freedom Coalition, I think every candidate for president should support a ban on abortions after 15 weeks as a minimum nationwide standard."
When it comes to exceptions for instances of rape, incest, or a danger to the life of the mother, Pence pointed to his record as a congressman from 2001-2013. "I consistently supported the Hyde Amendment, which prohibited taxpayer funding going to abortion with the exception of rape, incest, and life of the mother. So, I have a long history of supporting those exceptions and would give them every consideration in national legislation in the future."
Exceptions in these cases are popular among the public, with 82% supporting laws that allow abortion in cases in which the life of the mother is endangered at any point during pregnancy, and 70% endorse measures that make abortion legal in cases of rape or incest throughout pregnancy, according to an April NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist national poll.
Pressed on whether he would emphasize that consideration of exceptions to independent and swing voters, he suggested that the attribution of Republican losses in the midterm elections to abortion may be a misinterpretation.
"I think, when you look at the midterm elections, our candidates who stood with principle and compassion on the right to life and focused on the whole range of issues facing the American people today did quite well, including in very competitive races around the country," he said, rejecting the premise that pro-abortion independents were the reason for GOP losses.
"The candidates that did not fare well were candidates that were focused on the past, focused on relitigating the past," he said in a veiled swipe at Trump-endorsed candidates, many of whom called the results of the 2020 presidential election into question.
The former governor of Indiana further reiterated his confidence that "if we will focus on the challenges the American people are facing, and if we stand with principle and compassion on the right to life, I think we will prevail in 2024 and we'll continue to win hearts and minds across the country."
It may take time, but Pence is committed to "restoring a culture of life across this country."
According to him, "I think you'll see more and more Americans rally behind a minimum nationwide standard for life. But it'll take leadership. That's why I'm running for president."
Without mincing words, he additionally promised "Republican primary voters can be confident that they'll have a champion for life in the Oval Office, and we'll take the case for life to the American people."
The Indiana Republican will participate in an Iowa “Celebration for Life” tele-town hall with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser to mark the anniversary of the Dobbs decision at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. He is the only presidential candidate commemorating the occasion alongside the prominent anti-abortion organization with a town hall.
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He is also the only candidate slated to address the crowd at the Students for Life "National Celebrate Life Day" rally on Saturday morning at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Pence is polling at 7% among potential Republican primary voters, according to Morning Consult. He is in third place, behind Trump at 57% and DeSantis at 20%.