Pence reminds voters he supports 15-week abortion ban in campaign launch
Eden Villalovas
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Former Vice President Mike Pence began his presidential run by reiterating his support for abortion restrictions.
Pence said he would support a federal 15-week abortion ban previously proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) if he were elected to the highest office in the nation.
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“In the European Union, 12-15 weeks is very much the standard,” Pence said on Fox News in his first interview since launching his campaign. “Our abortion laws today, at the federal level, are more like China, North Korea, and Iran.”
Graham introduced the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act in the Senate in September 2022. It would institute a federal ban on abortions after 15 weeks. The initiative split Republicans, with hard-line abortion opposers casting their support, while others believe the power should remain up to the states.
Pence became the first vice president in over 80 years to challenge his former running mate, starting his bid with a strong critique of former President Donald Trump’s current rhetoric on abortion.
“After leading the most pro-life administration in American history, Donald Trump and others in this race are retreating from the cause of the unborn,” Pence said during his 2024 campaign launch in Iowa on Wednesday. “The sanctity of life has been our party’s calling for half a century — long before Donald Trump was a part of it.”
Pence accused the former president of leaving behind conservative values, including abortion, reaffirming to voters that he supports stringent bans.
“Now, he treats it as an inconvenience, even blaming our election losses in 2022 on overturning Roe v. Wade,” Pence added.
Pence’s longtime opposition to abortion has already been a pillar in his presidential endeavor, pointing to a record of praise for restrictions.
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Pence praised the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, stating on Twitter that the conservative-majority court “righted a historic wrong” by allowing the “American people to govern themselves at the state level in a manner consistent with their values and aspirations.”
Pence commended his fellow GOP presidential contender, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), for signing a six-week abortion ban in Florida in April.