JD Vance says Trump would veto national abortion ban

“I can absolutely commit,” Vance said when asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he could commit to Trump not imposing such a ban. “Donald Trump’s view is that we want individual states and their individual cultures and their unique political sensibilities to make these decisions because we don’t want to have a non-stop federal conflict on this issue.”

The Ohio senator also insisted that Trump, the former president who is this year’s Republican nominee, would veto such legislation if passed by Congress.

“I mean, if you don’t support him as president of the United States, you fundamentally have to veto him,” he said in an interview that aired Sunday.

Vance’s comments come after Democrats spent night after night at their national convention in Chicago last week attacking Trump for his role in appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion in United States and paving the way for bans and restrictions in Republican-led states.

But efforts to try to neutralize an issue that Democrats hope will galvanize voters this fall also risk alienating parts of Trump’s base that oppose abortion rights.

“God have mercy on this nation if this is now the position of what used to be the Pro-Life Party,” wrote Family Research Council President Tony Perkins in a Sunday post linking to a story about his comments Vance.

Although Trump has repeatedly boasted of his role in overturning Roe, he has in recent days dismissed warnings from Democrats that he would go further to restrict access if he wins a second term.

“My administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” he wrote on his platform Truth Social on Friday, appropriating language used by abortion rights and left-wing activists.

His comments drew a barrage of criticism from anti-abortion advocates, including the editor of conservative magazine National Review, who published an article titled “Trump’s abandonment of pro-life is complete.”

Trump repeated his claim hours later at an event in Las Vegas.

“I’m very strong on women’s reproductive rights. IVF (in vitro fertilization), very strong. I mean, we’re leaders in this. And I think people see that,” he told reporters.

Democrats responded to Trump with deep skepticism.

“American women are not stupid, and we will not trust the future of our daughters and granddaughters to two men who have openly bragged about blocking access to abortion for women across the country,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren told NBC.

Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-C., brushed off a question asking how Trump would “favor” reproductive rights.

“You have to ask him about that. What I would say is that President Trump has been a very good pro-life president,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“The pro-life community,” Graham said, “is organized around the well-being of the child, giving the mother options other than abortion.” Graham said “that movement will continue after he leaves.”

Trump has often struggled to talk about abortion. Before entering politics, he described himself as “very pro-choice”. Earlier this year, he confronted his position on the federal ban on abortion, suggesting at one point that he would support one at about 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s life is in danger. He then established his current position: that restrictions should be left to individual states.

Trump has not said how he plans to vote on an upcoming ballot measure on Florida’s six-week ban.

In an interview with CBS News earlier this week, Trump said he “doesn’t regret” his role in overturning Roe v. Wade. But after months of confusing statements, he said he would not use a federal law known as the Comstock Act to try to ban the distribution of drugs that are used as an alternative to surgical abortions. It’s something some of his allies have urged and Vance has supported in the past.

“We’ll discuss the details, but overall, no,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“It will be available and it is now. And as far as I know, the Supreme Court said, “Continue as is.” I will apply and agree with the Supreme Court, but basically they said, keep it as it is now,” he said.

Abortion has been a strong cause for Democrats since the Roe decision in the summer of 2022, and the party expects it to continue to play a key role this year.

On the floor of the Democratic convention, women told harrowing personal stories of having to carry non-viable pregnancies to term and being denied miscarriage care, putting their future fertility at risk.

“This is what is happening in our country because of Donald Trump. And understand, he’s not done,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in her speech accepting her party’s nomination.

Trump, responding to the speech in real time, falsely insisted that “Everybody, Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, wanted Roe v.

“I’m not limiting access to birth control or IVF – THAT’S A LIE, these are all fake stories she’s making up,” he wrote. “I TRUST WOMEN, AND I WILL KEEP WOMEN SAFE!”