J.D. Vance’s Opposition to Abortion Rights Is at Center of His Political Career

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J.D. Vance’s Opposition to ********* Rights Is at Center of His Political Career

Throughout his brief political career, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio has been an unapologetic opponent of ********* rights, a view driven by his ********* ****** and one he has cited as a driving force in his agenda.

He has supported a federal ********* ban, opposed exceptions for ***** and *******, said he wanted to protect life “from the date of conception” and frequently described himself as “100 percent pro-life.”

“I think two wrongs don’t make a right; at the end of day, we are talking about an unborn baby,” he told an Ohio radio host in September 2021 before Roe v. Wade was overturned in part by three Supreme Court justices appointed by the man who named him to the Republicans’ 2024 presidential ticket. “It’s not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term. It’s whether a child should be allowed to live.”

In January 2023, Mr. Vance signed a letter asking the Justice Department to enforce the Comstock Act, a long-dormant law from 1873, to ban the mailing of ********* medication. Such an action could significantly limit access to such medication, which accounts for a majority of abortions in the country.

“While the use of chemical ********* drugs may be legal in some states, and federal law does not currently explicitly prohibit the use of such drugs, federal law does prohibit the mailing or shipping of such items,” read the letter, which was signed by more than two dozen *********** lawmakers. “Despite attempts to downplay this action, the ‘mere mailing’ of these items is expressly what the law has prohibited for nearly 150 years.”

Enforcing the Comstock Act is included in a plan released by a coalition that has been drawing up America First-style policy plans, nicknamed Project 2025 — though the law is referred to only by the statute number. Mr. Vance has publicly praised those plans as containing “some good ideas,” even as former President Donald J. Trump has tried to distance himself from the effort.

Now, as he joins Mr. Trump’s presidential ticket, Mr. Vance is seeking to play down — and in some cases rewrite — those views, saying he backs Mr. Trump’s support for “reasonable exceptions” and for allowing states to decide their own limits on *********.

“My view is that Donald Trump is the leader of the *********** Party, and his views on ********* are going to be the views that dominate this party and drive this party forward,” Mr. Vance said on Monday in an interview on Fox News, after he was named to the ticket. “You have to believe in reasonable exceptions because that’s where the ********* people are. And you’ve got to let individual states make this decision.”

His current position is a clear softening for a candidate who once described staunch opposition to ********* as one of the most crucial litmus tests for conservatives.

Since entering politics in 2022, with his run for a Senate seat in Ohio, Mr. Vance has cast himself as a fierce opponent of ********* rights, supporting a Texas law that made ********* functionally ******** in the state and that authorizes residents to enforce the ban. The 2021 law transformed Texas, criminalizing ********* before the Supreme Court overturned the right nationwide.

“I think one of the most important issues for the ************* movement is the right to life,” Mr. Vance told a crowd gathered for a campaign town-hall-style meeting in February 2022. “If you’re not willing to stand on that issue, I think it indicates your character is weak and you don’t have the fortitude to actually serve the interest of our voters.”

He carried those beliefs into the Senate, where he has voted against protecting the right to fertility treatments like I.V.F. He has also opposed judicial nominees with a history of supporting ********* rights and legislation that expressed support for protecting access to *********.

Mr. Vance has urged Republicans to be not just anti-********* but “pro-baby and pro-family and pro-people who are raising our families.”

He has cast Democrats as extreme on the issue, saying that the party supports ********* until birth. Abortions so late in pregnancy are very rare, making up less than 1 percent of all procedures. Most Democrats say the issue should be left for women and their doctors to decide.

President Biden’s campaign sees fresh opportunities in Mr. Vance’s past statements. On Wednesday evening, it plans to release an advertisement featuring Hadley Duvall, a Kentucky ********* rights activist who says she was ****** by her stepfather as a girl.

Mr. Vance is fluent in the language of the anti-********* movement, attacking what followers often call the “********* lobby” and likening ********* rights to ********* slavery.

“There’s something comparable between ********* and slavery,” Mr. Vance said, “and that while the people who obviously suffer the most are those subjected to it, I think it has this morally distorting effect on the entire society.”

Mr. Vance was so outspoken in his anti-********* views that he won a 100 percent rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a prominent anti-********* political organization.

“J.D. Vance is an exceptional selection as President Trump’s running mate,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of the group, who praised his “courage” in “exposing the Democrats’ agenda of ********* for any reason.”

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#J.D #Vances #Opposition #********* #Rights #Center #Political #Career

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