Pence says GOP candidates must stake out clear abortion position

Former Vice President Mike Pence argued that his party must embrace an anti-abortion position that puts Democrats on defense in the aftermath of last summer’s Supreme Court ruling, a departure from former President Trump's reading of the issue.

“What I saw in the last election was that men and women who clearly articulated their position on the sanctity of life did quite well in their election,” Pence said in an exclusive interview with The Hill on Wednesday.

“But Republican candidates who allowed Democrats to take attention away from their radical position on abortion and define the Republican position did not fare as well,” Pence continued.

“And so I think going forward, it's going to be incumbent on the men and women of our party to stand without apology for the sanctity of human life, to stand on that principle of the unalienable right to life, but also to express compassion for women that are facing crisis pregnancies.”

The former vice president has been among the most outspoken conservatives in calling for states to enact abortion restrictions following the court's ruling last summer overturning Roe v. Wade.

His comments to The Hill underscore the debate within the GOP about how to handle abortion moving forward, after some in the party said it cost them winnable races in November’s midterm elections. 

Trump wrote last week on Truth Social that he was not to blame for the party’s underwhelming midterm performance, which saw Republicans only narrowly retake the House and lose ground in the Senate. 

“It was the ‘abortion issue,’ poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters,” Trump wrote. “Also, the people that pushed so hard, for decades, against abortion, got their wish from the U.S. Supreme Court, & just plain disappeared, not to be seen again.”

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told reporters this week that the GOP has been “tone-deaf” on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. She said the party should not just pay lip service to the anti-abortion movement, but look for viable policies to bring down the number of abortions like increasing access to birth control.

But conservatives like Pence, as well as advocacy groups that oppose abortion, have asserted that Republicans struggled with the abortion issue not because of out-of-step views, but because their candidates tried to dodge the topic and didn’t force Democrats to articulate their own position.

“The approach to winning on abortion in federal races, proven for a decade, is this: state clearly the ambitious consensus pro-life position and contrast that with the extreme view of Democrat opponents,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said in a statement last week that was shared by Pence.

“There was ALSO a profound midterm lesson for future federal candidates: those who adopted the Ostrich Strategy on abortion lose,” the group added.

Pence has said in recent months that states should enact laws restricting abortion access after the Supreme Court struck down the precedent set by Roe guaranteeing abortion access, and he said he would have supported a proposed 15-week national abortion ban if he were a member of Congress.

In Wednesday’s interview, the former vice president called the appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices one of the “great accomplishments” of the Trump administration. All three of those justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — voted to overturn Roe v. Wade last summer.

Pence’s long-held opposition to abortion would likely be a key selling point for social conservatives and evangelical voters if he were to run for president in 2024. The former vice president told The Hill he will continue to consult with his family in the coming months before deciding on whether to launch a campaign.

But whether or not he is on the ballot, abortion is likely to play a major role in the 2024 presidential race. Pence emphasized the need for Republicans to put forward candidates willing to tackle the issue head on.

“I think it all begins with having leaders that are willing to stand up and state clearly where they are on the right to life,” Pence said. “And I think the elections proved that.”