Former Vice President Mike Pence warned his opponents on Friday that he would debate the Republican Party's presidential front-runners on the topic of abortion, which he believes should be banned nationally after 15 weeks.
Pence, who has called himself "unapologetically pro-life," said he would call out former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on their stances toward abortion during the first Republican debate later this month.
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"My former running mate, the governor of Florida, and others are suggesting that the Supreme Court returned the question of abortion to the states," Pence said during an appearance at the Iowa State Fair. "I truly do believe it’s vitally important that we seize the opportunity at the national level to advance protections for the right to life, and I’ll do so as president. This is a really big issue. It will be on the stage in Milwaukee."
Trump's stance has echoed the Supreme Court ruling that ended Roe v. Wade, claiming the matter of abortion belongs to individual states, not the federal government. DeSantis, however, has not commented on a federal ban on abortion but signed legislation that banned the procedure after six weeks in Florida. Trump's stance and DeSantis's silence have both been slammed by abortion opponents.
Pence said that his call to ban abortion nationally at 15 weeks would match most of Europe's bans on abortion, which ban the procedure after 12-15 weeks, depending on the country. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) also supports a 15-week federal ban on abortion.
"Our laws at the national level today are more aligned with North Korea, China, and Iran than with other Western countries in Europe," Pence said in June.
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The first Republican debate will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Aug. 23. Five candidates have fully qualified for the debate, which requires candidates to poll at 1% nationally for the Republican nomination and secure donations from 40,000 donors. It also requires candidates to sign a pledge that they would support the eventual GOP nominee.
Those candidates are DeSantis, Scott, former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Pence has met the polling and donor threshold and has vowed to sign the pledge, but has not signed it so far. Trump and former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) also meet the donor and polling thresholds but have not decided whether they will sign the pledge.