Former Vice President Mike Pence is urging GOP senators to reject President-elect Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to steer the Division of Well being and Human Companies (HHS) due to his views on abortion.
In a press release from his conservative nonprofit Advancing American Freedom on Friday, Pence stated Kennedy’s nomination “is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades.”
Kennedy has been inconsistent on his abortion place. When he launched his presidential marketing campaign as a Democrat, Kennedy endorsed a ban on abortion after the primary trimester however then shortly backtracked. He additionally recommended he opposed banning abortion earlier than fetal viability, typically round 24 weeks right into a being pregnant.
On his marketing campaign web site, Kennedy says he’s “a firm supporter of the principles laid out 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade” and that “if the courts do not overturn Dobbs v. Jackson and restore abortion rights, he will support legislation to accomplish the same.”
Trump himself stated he doesn’t help a federal abortion ban and ran his marketing campaign distancing himself from the anti-abortion wing of the Republican celebration.
Pence, a staunch non secular conservative, has grow to be an occasional critic of his former boss on coverage positions, particularly Trump’s view that abortion needs to be left to states. Pence beforehand stated Trump’s stance was a “slap in the face” to abortion opponents.
In keeping with Mission 2025, the conservative Heritage Basis’s plan for Trump’s second time period, Republicans wish to restore to “the department of life,” utilizing a Christian-centric foundation for governing.
“The Trump-Pence administration was unapologetically pro-life for our four years in office. There are hundreds of decisions made at HHS every day that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it, and HHS under our administration always stood for life,” Pence stated.
“On behalf of tens of millions of pro-life Americans, I respectfully urge Senate Republicans to reject this nomination and give the American people a leader who will respect the sanctity of life as secretary of Health and Human Services.”
Main anti-abortion teams are reacting extra tepidly, not outright calling for Kennedy’s rejection however not but overtly endorsing him, both.
“There’s no question that we need a pro-life HHS secretary, and of course, we have concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. I believe that no matter who is HHS secretary, baseline policies set by President Trump during his first term will be re-established,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America, stated in a press release to The Hill.
Kristan Hawkins, president of College students for Life, stated in a press release that she was trying ahead to talking with Kennedy about refocusing HHS so it isn’t “prejudiced against pro-life Americans, including pro-life hospitals.”
“RFK Jr. has a proven track record of holding healthcare bureaucrats accountable for putting public health first, over political interests. There is no more weaponized agency than HHS, where whatever is good for the Democrats big donor — Planned Parenthood — gets fast tracked,” Hawkins stated.
