Former Trump VP Mike Pence pretends he cares one iota about women's health while pushing to have abortion pills taken "completely off the market."
April 24, 2023

During an interview that aired on this Sunday's Face the Nation on CBS, former Trump VP Mike Pence did his best to continue to push his party towards an extreme stance on abortion and women's reproductive rights, all while feigning concern for women's health and well being.

Good luck with this stance in a general election Mike. And shame on Bob Costa for not pushing back harder on the safety of the abortion drug mifepristone.

Here's Pence's reaction to the recent stay by the Supreme Court:

MIKE PENCE: You know, I'm pro life. I don't apologize for it. I think the fact the Biden administration allowed Mifepristone to be made available on a mail order basis was a- a fundamental change. Even in states that have limited abortion.

I'd like to see this medication off the market to protect the unborn. But also, I- I have deep concerns about the way the FDA went about approving Mifepristone 20 years ago. I'm grateful that action is being taken in the courts to hold the FDA accountable to what the law requires in reviewing any medication that's made on the marketplace. So for the sake of protecting the unborn, but also for the health and safety of women, I- I'm looking forward to this- this litigation continuing and holding the manufacturers of Mifepristone accountable. And ultimately, and putting the interests of women first.

The only interests Pence is putting first is what he believes are his own political interests. Pence is also apparently at odds with the members of his party that believe a federal abortion ban would be political suicide and fear a 2024 backlash if they pass one:

ROBERT COSTA: This issue is also very, very big right now in the Republican Party. There's a real debate. Anti-abortion activist Marjorie Dannenfelser, has said that anyone who takes former President Trump's position – that states should decide what happens on abortion – she has called that a morally indefensible position. Do you agree?

PENCE: The cause of restoring the sanctity of life to the center of American law is the calling of our time. The Supreme Court in the Dobbs decision last June gave the American people a new beginning for life. It returned the question of abortion to the states and to the American people. But it didn't just return it exclusively to the states. And that's where I disagree with the former president. This isn't a states only decision. We have elected representatives in the Congress of the United States and we'll elect a president again in 2024. And I think the American people would welcome a minimum national standard in Washington, D.C., 15 weeks.

ROBERT COSTA: Is former President Trump in retreat on the abortion front?

PENCE: Well, I'd- I'd leave that to others.

ROBERT COSTA: What's your take?

PENCE: You can ask him--

ROBERT COSTA: Your top aide Marc Short has said, on the record, former President Trump is in retreat.

PENCE: Well- I- I- That- that's a great question for him. I couldn't be more proud to have been Vice President in the administration that appointed three of the justices to the Supreme Court that sent Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history. But Robert, now, we're in a new season, and I think millions of pro-life Americans want to see us seize every opportunity to put the interests of- of- of the unborn first and also, in equal measure, to demonstrate the generosity and compassion of the American people, toward women who've been caught up in abortion in the last 50 years, and women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy today.

Anyone who believes they'll stop at 15 weeks, and not an outright nationwide ban, and criminalization is kidding themselves. And it's not about women's health. It's about control. And birth control will be next.

And if Trump thinks he can separate himself from Pence on this issue after appointing those extremists who overturned Roe to the Supreme Court, good luck with that as well. You're going to need it.

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