Former Vice President Mike Pence sharply criticized former President Donald Trump for saying that abortion policy should be left to the states and declining to back a national abortion restriction.
“President Trump’s retreat on the Right to Life is a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020,” Pence said on X. “However much our Republican nominee or other candidates seek to marginalize the cause of life, I know pro-life Americans will never relent until we see the sanctity of life restored to the center of American law in every state in this country.”
Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that the states should have the ultimate jurisdiction over abortion policy. This statement came only weeks after hinting that he would support a 15- or 16-week gestational age limit on abortion at the federal level.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land,” Trump said. “Many will have a different number of weeks, or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be.”
Pence, known for his Christian-based social conservatism, lamented that most Republican politicians are too eager to disassociate themselves from taking a strong stance on abortion, especially at the national level.
“Republicans win on life when we speak the truth boldly and stand on the principle that we all know to be true — human life begins at conception and should be defended from womb to tomb,” Pence said.
Anti-abortion advocates and Republican strategists have suggested that Republican silence on abortion has let Democrats control the narrative on the hot-button issue, contributing to the struggles of Republicans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022.
Trump has been the target of abortion-rights advocates, who blame his administration for nominating three of the six justices who voted to overturn Roe.
Trump reaffirmed in his abortion message that he was proud of nominating the three right-leaning justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — and returning abortion policy to the states.
Pence also took credit for his role in selecting the justices and overturning Roe, saying that Dobbs made abortion a matter for the general public as well, not just on the state level.
“By nominating and standing by the confirmation of conservative justices, the Trump-Pence Administration helped send Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history where it belongs and gave the pro-life movement the opportunity to compassionately support women and unborn children,” Pence said. “In the landmark Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court returned the question of abortion to the states and the American people.”
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Abortion is a top-of-mind subject for a majority of voters heading into the 2024 general election this fall, with 1 in 8 saying it is the most important policy matter, according to a poll conducted last month by healthcare policy think tank KFF.
Only 50% of Republicans believe Trump had “a lot” or “some” hand in overturning Roe, while, by contrast, 82% of Democrats and 67% of independents believe similarly.