Pence says abortion should be banned for nonviable pregnancies

Former Vice President Mike Pence said abortions in the case of nonviable pregnancies should be banned, taking a hard stance on abortion policy, which has proven to be a point of emphasis in his campaign.

“I’m pro-life. I don’t apologize for it,” Pence said in a recent interview. “I just have heard so many stories over the years of courageous women and families who were told that their unborn child would not go to term or would not survive. And then they had a healthy pregnancy and a healthy delivery.”

Pence is the only GOP presidential candidate to publicly support a national abortion ban at six weeks. One in three women confirm their pregnancies past the six-week mark, according to a November 2021 study published in the journal Contraception. He has also supported bans on birth control and pushed a 15-week abortion ban as a bare minimum.

“I want to always err on the side of life,” he said. “I would hold that view in these matters because … I honestly believe that we got this extraordinary opportunity in the country today to restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law.”

Pence has made abortion rights a tent pole of his campaign and has previously said the issue is “more important than politics.”

Medical experts and abortion rights advocates have criticized the pledge, saying that forcing women to carry nonviable pregnancies to term carries unnecessary health risks.

“One of the things that you cannot understate is the difficulty for a woman to carry a nonviable pregnancy,” said Alan Peaceman, professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, in an interview with The Associated Press (AP).

“It is psychological torture to go out in the world, for people to see your pregnancy — and people will come up to you and want to talk about your pregnancy. And that puts the woman in a terrible position that nobody should be in unless they chose to be in that position,” he added.

Campaigns for former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the two leading candidates in the GOP race, did not say whether their candidates would back a similar measure, according to the AP.

Nonviable pregnancies have become a notable political topic since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the legal precedent set by Roe v. Wade, removing federal protections for abortion access. 

Abortion is banned in 21 states, with six-week bans in place in Georgia and Iowa. DeSantis signed a six-week ban into law in Florida in April, but it is being challenged in court.

Pence has received the third-most support among GOP candidates in polling averages, about 7 percent.