Mike Pence Slams RNC for Ditching National Abortion Ban in Party Platform: ‘Profound Disappointment’

Former vice president Mike Pence, an ardent social conservative and pro-life advocate, is dismayed by the Republican party’s abortion stance this election cycle, further distancing himself from his old running mate, former president Donald Trump.

Pence issued a statement on Tuesday expressing “profound disappointment” with the 2024 GOP platform for removing a commitment to advocate a national abortion ban.

“The RNC platform is a profound disappointment to the millions of pro-life Republicans that have always looked to the Republican Party to stand for life,” Pence said.

“Now is not the time to surrender any ground in the fight for the right to life. The 2024 platform removed historic pro-life principles that have long been the foundation of the platform,” Pence added.

“The updated platform also cedes this fight to the states, leaving the unborn in California and Illinois to the far-left’s extremist abortion policies. The right to life is not only a state issue; it is a moral issue, and our party must continue to speak with moral clarity and compassion about advancing the cause of life at the federal, state and local level.”

Unlike previous RNC platforms, the 2024 platform does not include a national abortion ban and instead delegates the issue to states, in line with former president Donald Trump’s position.

“We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights,” the GOP platform reads.

“After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).”

Democrats have capitalized on abortion restrictions in the two years following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade and sending abortion back to states to decide. Trump often takes credit for appointing three conservatives justices during his presidency, all of whom voted to overturn Roe.

In a similar manner, Democrats have sought to portray Republicans as opponents of in vitro fertilization treatments for couples struggling with fertility.

Pence, a devout Christian, also supports common-sense guardrails around IVF based on he and his wife’s experience with fertility treatments in the 1990s.

“To me, the objective is how we preserve access to fertility treatments but create a framework around that which recognizes the rights and interests of parents and protections for unborn life,” Pence previously told NR.

In 2016, Trump’s choice of Pence to be his running mate helped him shore up support from hesitant social conservatives unsure about Trump’s commitments to issues long championed the Christian right. Pence broke with Trump after the January 6th Capitol riot and declined to endorse Trump earlier this year.