Pro-life advocacy groups are backing Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who was recently selected by former President Donald Trump as his running mate for vice president in 2024 despite his support for access to abortion pills.
Last week, in an interview with “Meet the Press,” Vance said he supported “availability” of the abortion drug mifepristone after the Supreme Court ruled to reject a pro-life lawsuit seeking to overturn the drug’s Food and Drug Administration approval.
Vance’s position on access to abortion pills does not appear to deter support from pro-life groups, who have praised Trump’s vice presidential pick as an “exceptional choice.”
“His courage in exposing the Democratic Party’s policies that allow abortion for any reason, even in the seventh, eighth and ninth months of pregnancy, led him to a decisive victory in the 2022 midterm elections,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America.
Trump nominates Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance for 2024 presidential run
Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, President Trump’s nominee for vice president, arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Vance’s difficult upbringing has shaped his compassionate approach to this issue. He has seen firsthand how women facing unexpected pregnancies are at a disadvantage when they lack the necessary support and resources, even though most of them would prefer to choose life. His ability to tell these stories compellingly on a national stage will undoubtedly be an asset,” she said.
Catholic Vote President Brian Burch said the group “proudly supports candidate Trump Vance’s victory in the November election.”
“Vance embodies a vision for our nation that we have long held — a vision that proudly puts American workers, families and children first — a vision that proudly puts the needs and interests of the American people first while resisting the secular, technocratic and globalist agenda of an elite corporate and political class that despises ordinary people and our common moral and religious way of life,” he said.
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Sen. J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha Chirukuri Vance, watch as he is nominated for vice president during the first day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Vance is “fully pro-life,” she said, “but it’s important to note that he’s not running for president himself and understands that, given today’s political realities, he has to work with President Trump to win the election and then govern in a way that actually gets results for unborn children,” Burch added.
Burch also said it was “premature to draw too broad a conclusion about Vance’s pro-abortion stance” based solely on the “left-leaning Gotcha interview.”
“We know public opinion remains divided on this issue, but given the reckless handling of its approval by the FDA and the obvious harm it causes to women, MifePreston deserves close scrutiny. There is no doubt that these abortion pills directly destroy innocent human lives, but they also carry significant risks for the babies’ mothers.”
“We will continue to pressure President Trump and Vice President Vance to take seriously the harm these dangerous drugs cause to women and all of our society,” he said.
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Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, President Trump’s nominee for vice president, arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 15, 2024. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
But Vance did not receive unanimous approval from the pro-life activist community. Posted a statement on X “Both J.D. Vance and President Trump support the legalization of abortion pills. This is heartbreaking and wrong,” he said.
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A Fox News poll in May found that the issue of abortion access was one of three “non-negotiable” issues for voters in the 2024 election, along with border security and the economy.
Abortion was slightly higher at 15%. economy The poll found that the biggest deal-breakers were border security and immigration (14% each).
