Donald Trump’s selection of Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate adds a staunch anti-abortion voice to the top of the Republican ticket.
Vance, who officially became the vice presidential nominee on Monday, previously described himself as “100% pro-life.” But the particulars of his stance have varied since he entered the political arena a few years ago — and his rhetoric appears to have increasingly aligned with Trump’s over time.
Vance told CBS News’ Face the Nation in May that his position on abortion matched Trump’s: that states should determine their own policies.
“What I’ve said consistently is the gross majority of policy here is gonna be set by the states,” Vance said, though he added that he was personally opposed to abortion rights.
“I wanna save as many babies as possible,” he said. “And sure, I think it’s totally reasonable to say that late-term abortions should not happen, with reasonable exceptions.”
Vance previously suggested, however, that a national law limiting abortion would be welcome.
During a debate in October 2022, when Vance was running for Senate, he signaled support for Sen. Lindsey Graham’s abortion bill, which would make administering an abortion at 15 weeks gestation or later a criminal offense nationwide. The bill has exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, and would not override state laws with tighter restrictions.
“You can have some minimum national standards, which is my view, while also allowing the states to make up their minds,” Vance said. “California is going to have a different view than Ohio. That’s totally fine.”
A representative for Vance’s Senate office declined to comment on his current abortion stance and instead referred NBC News to Vance’s previous statements. At times, those statements have seemed to contradict Trump’s position that abortion is an issue best left to the states.
In November, Vance told reporters: “We can’t give in to the idea that the federal Congress has no role in this matter, because if it doesn’t, then the pro-life movement is basically not going to exist, I think, for the next couple of years.”
Vance also opposed an amendment to Ohio’s Constitution codifying the right to abortion and contraception. When the amendment passed in November, Vance described it as a “gut punch” in a post on X. Ohio allows abortions up to 20 weeks.
“There is something sociopathic about a political movement that tells young women (and men) that it is liberating to murder their own children,” he wrote.
However, Vance simultaneously hinted at a difference between his own beliefs and what appeals to voters.
“This is not about moral legitimacy but political reality,” he wrote. “Give people a choice between abortion restrictions very early in pregnancy with exceptions, or the pro choice position, and the pro life view has a fighting chance. Give people a heartbeat bill with no exceptions and it loses 65-35.” (So-called “heartbeat bills” generally prohibit abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, around six weeks into pregnancy.)
Vance similarly told CNN’s Jake Tapper in December that exceptions for rape and the life of the mother were politically necessary.
“We have to accept that people do not want blanket abortion bans. They just don’t,” he said.
Vance’s voting record shows he has consistently opposed efforts to protect reproductive rights. Like most Republican senators, he has an “A+” on the Susan B. Anthony List National Pro-Life Scorecard, which evaluates congressional support for anti-abortion legislation, and a 0% score on Reproductive Freedom for All’s congressional record. Along with 46 other Republican senators, he introduced a bill in January 2023 that would prohibit federal funding from being used to cover abortion as health care through Medicaid or another government-run program.
Candidates’ positions on abortion are expected to have a major influence on the election. A national NBC News poll in April found that voters consider abortion to be one of the most important issues in the country. Similarly, in a 2023 survey from the Public Religion Research Institute — a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization — found that more than 6 in 10 Americans believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases.
The Republican Party recently loosened its position on abortion. Instead of the party’s long-held call for a national ban, the Republican National Committee adopted a platform earlier this month that says states are free to pass their own abortion laws.
