Global Courant
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gestures at the “National Celebrate Life Day Rally” commemorating the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v Women’s Health Organization case, upholding the historic Roe v Wade abortion decision was overturned, in Washington, US, June 24, 2023.
Evelien Hockstein | Reuters
Two Republican 2024 presidential candidates voiced their opposition to abortion on Sunday on the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence described last year’s landmark decision as “a historic victory” that condemned Roe v. Wade to “the ashes of history.”
Pence earlier this week called on all GOP candidates to commit to a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks — but he said on Sunday it was also important to “stand with compassion.”
“With 62 million unborn lives lost, and about the same number of women going through two generations under abortion, I think we need to bring a message of grace, we need to bring a message of kindness,” Pence said in an interview on Fox News. Sunday.” “That’s how we’re going to win hearts and minds. It’s so much more important than politics to me, but I also think it’s a winning issue.”
Pence said a 15-week national limit would “align U.S. law with most countries in Europe that literally ban abortion at 12 to 15 weeks.”
In fact, his call for tighter restrictions comes as recent national NBC News poll found that 6 in 10 voters still oppose the Supreme Court abolishing the national right to abortion. According to NBC News, the poll included nearly 80% of female voters ages 18 to 49, two-thirds of suburban women, 60% of independents, and one-third of Republican voters disapproving.
Pence also said he “strongly supports” Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama’s attempt to block military promotions because of the Defense Department’s policies on abortion, including a recent decision to reimburse expenses for military personnel who travel to other countries. travel states to have an abortion.
“We just can’t have the federal government directly or indirectly subsidizing abortion in this country, and that includes the Pentagon,” Pence said.
Another guest on the Fox program, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), objected to that comment. “We (Democrats) support Roe v. Wade,” Cardin said. “We thought that was established law. It was established law for nearly 50 years. The Supreme Court’s decision was a radical one that reversed women’s rights to make their own healthcare decisions.”
That right “shouldn’t be subservient to what the state legislatures do,” Cardin said. “This is a personal decision made by women with the advice of their doctors and their families. And we don’t think we should try to tell women when to make those decisions.”
But at least one GOP contender said Sunday he probably won’t agree with Pence’s idea. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who announced his presidency earlier this month, said while he supports the decision in Dobbs, he will oppose the concept of a federal abortion ban until a “national consensus” emerges on the issue.
“Conservatives like me have been arguing for the last 50 years that this is not a federal issue. It’s a state issue. It’s something that states should decide. The Dobbs case a year ago gave us the opportunity to let every state make that decision decision,” he told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
“What I hope to see is that with each of the 50 states, but more importantly, the people of each of the 50 states deciding on this issue, we could see a national consensus emerge,” Christie said.
“If a national consensus emerges, I have no problem with the federal government stepping in and confirming that national consensus.”
