(LifeSiteNews) — Senator JD Vance of Ohio, a professed Catholic, said he supports abortion drugs being legal throughout the country.
The Republican senator made the comments on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. Vance is considered a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump, who also supports abortion drugs.
“On the question of the abortion pill, what’s so many of us have said … the Supreme Court made a decision saying that the American people should have access to that medication, Donald Trump has supported that opinion, I support that opinion,” Senator Vance said, discussing the recent FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine decision.
Vance appeared to not understand the Supreme Court decision – the Court did not rule that the “American people should have access to that medication.” Rather, the Court ruled that the plaintiffs in the case, pro-life medical professionals, did not have standing to sue to stop the Biden administration’s loosening of regulations.
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Vance, a convert to Catholicism, then said that President Trump is “pragmatic,” about his approach to abortion.
“I think it’s important to say that we actually have to have an important conversation in this country about what our abortion policy should be,” Vance said.
“Donald Trump is the pragmatic leader here. He’s saying most abortion policy is going to be decided by the states,” Vance said. “We want to make it easier and more affordable for young women and parents to have families to begin with, we want to lower housing costs, eliminate those surprise medical bills that so many families see after they have a baby. That’s the Trump and Republican approach to this issue.”
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However, the Republican Party has not coalesced around Vance’s idea that abortion drugs should be widely available. For example, 145 of Vance’s fellow Republican congressmen signed onto an amicus brief in opposing the loosening of abortion drug regulations.
Vance then pivoted to a common talking point used by Republicans who favor few restrictions on abortion themselves.
Catholic Senator @JDVance1 said he supports Supreme Court decision on abortion drugs. pic.twitter.com/LKUzTUwu4j
— Matt Lamb (@MattLamb22) July 8, 2024
“Meanwhile, Joe Biden wants taxpayer-funded abortion up to the moment of birth. It’s so crazy to me how the Democrats frame this as Republicans… they frame Democrats as being reasonable and pragmatic, when in reality, Republicans are the ones trying to find common ground here,” Vance said.
Pro-lifers stress, however, that every preborn life is worthy of protection from the moment of birth, no matter the circumstances of conception.
Furthermore, Trump has said he would not sign a federal ban on abortion, meaning states like New York, California, Illinois, and New Jersey would continue to be allowed to kill babies up until the moment of birth.
Vance’s support for abortion drugs comes as pro-life advocates are working to stop the GOP from weakening its pro-life plank in its 2024 platform.
The senator’s support for abortion drugs is also at odds with his professed Catholic faith.
The Catholic Church condemns abortion as a grave sin and teaches that Catholics must oppose it.
“Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable,” the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches. “Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”