Trump's selection of JD Vance draws mixed reactions from pro-lifers: From 'exceptional' to 'heartbreaking'
Advocacy groups on both sides of the aisle have weighed in on former President Donald Trump's selection of Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, as his running mate in the 2024 presidential election, with pro-life activists mixed in their enthusiasm.
Vance, a 39-year-old who became a U.S. senator in 2023 after winning the election to fill the seat vacated by Republican Sen. Rob Portman, is best known as the author of the 2016 bestselling book Hillbilly Elegy, which focused on the decline of white working-class Americans in the post-war era and was later adapted into a movie.
In a statement published Monday, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national pro-life grassroots organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, described Vance as "an exceptional selection" for the Republican vice presidential slot.
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"His courage in exposing the Democrats' agenda of abortion for any reason, even in the seventh, eighth, or ninth month, helped propel him to a decisive victory in the 2022 midterm elections," Dannenfelser said.
"Vance's hardscrabble upbringing informs his compassionate approach to this issue," she added. "His ability to compellingly share these stories on the national stage will surely be an asset. During his time in the Senate, he has earned an A+ on our scorecard."
The praise from Dannenfelser, one of the most respected anti-abortion activists in the movement, comes after Vance has appeared to take a softer stance on abortion within the last year than some pro-life activists may prefer. He suggested in a CNN interview last December that the Republican Party needs to accept that people do not want "blanket abortion bans."
Carol Tobias, president of the pro-life organization National Right to Life, offered similar praise in her reaction to Vance's addition to the Republican presidential ticket.
"National Right to Life believes Senator Vance is an excellent choice for vice president," she asserted. "He is committed to promoting the right to life and protecting both women and their preborn children."
Tobias praised Vance for bringing "a strong, pro-life background to the Republican ticket, which contrasts with the extreme pro-abortion position of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."
Brian Burch, president of the conservative advocacy group CatholicVote, also reacted positively to Vance's selection as the Republican vice presidential nominee.
"I have known and long admired Senator Vance for several years," he said in an X post Monday. "I've also had the chance to spend time personally talking to him about his conversion to Catholicism and his vision for a new politics for America. We supported him in his 2022 victory for the U.S. Senate, and will proudly help the Trump-Vance ticket win in November."
Burch contends Vance is representative of "a vision for the country that we have long embraced — a vision that proudly prioritizes American workers, families, and children." He said that vision "proudly puts the needs and interests of Americans first, while pushing back against the secular, technocratic, and globalist agendas of our elitist corporate and political class that despise common people and our common moral and religious way of life."
"Vance is solidly pro-life," Burch added. "He chose to become a Catholic, in part, because of our Church's teachings on the sanctity of all human life. But it's important to note that he is not running for President himself and understands he must work with President Trump to both win the election and then govern in a way that actually achieves real results for the unborn, given the political realities of our moment."
At the same time, Burch acknowledged that "Vance is well suited to take on the responsibilities of the presidency if, God forbid, something were to happen to President Trump."
While most conservative advocacy groups and pro-life activists reacted favorably to Trump choosing Vance as his running mate, the development generated less enthusiasm from some in the pro-life community.
Lila Rose of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, lamented in an X post Monday that "Both J.D. Vance and President Trump support the legalization of abortion pills," a belief she described as "heartbreaking and wrong."
Explaining that "Vance was once strongly against the murder of all preborn babies," Rose stressed that "both men can still change their positions and we will pray and work for them to do so."
"The reality is this: we are dealing with two pro-abortion legalization tickets, with the Biden/Harris ticket supporting abortions on babies through all nine months of pregnancy as well as the political persecution of pro-life people," she stated. "I urge all the candidates to see the abject evil of abortion, to change their positions and to become fighters for the most innocent among us. America's children deserve better."
Vance signaled support for a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting an attempt to strike down the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion drug mifepristone during an interview on "Meet the Press" last week.
"On the question of the abortion pill, what so many of us have said is that, look, we certainly don't — the Supreme Court made a decision saying that the American people should have access to that medication. Donald Trump has supported that opinion. I support that opinion."
In a series of social media posts on Monday and Tuesday, the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising expressed similar concerns about the Trump-Vance ticket.
"With the nomination of Donald Trump and JD Vance as his VP and the new MAGA platform, the GOP has fully embraced legal child killing," the pro-life group declared in an X post Monday. "There is no longer a pro-life political party in America. Shame on Trump and the GOP!"
In a Tuesday X post sharing a clip from the "Meet the Press" interview discussing the abortion pill, PAAU proclaimed, "JD Vance supports the abortion pill which accounts for 63% of all abortions nationwide," adding, "Trump and his VP pick are pro-abortion, period."
Vance's selection as Trump's running mate received strong condemnation from pro-choice advocacy groups. Rahna Epting, who serves as the political action director for the progressive organization MoveOn, released a statement expressing concern that "JD Vance supports abortion bans — just like Donald Trump."
"JD Vance defended insurrectionists storming the Capitol on January 6 — just like Donald Trump. JD Vance wants to use power to help the wealthy and well connected and to seek revenge on his political opponents–just like Donald Trump," MoveOn statement adds.
Identifying the addition of Vance to the GOP presidential ticket as a move that "only divides us further and harms any effort to unite this country," Epting vowed that "MoveOn members remain committed to defeating the Trump-Vance ticket and their MAGA allies up and down the ballot in this election" and doing "the work to unite this country against MAGA extremism."
The pro-abortion advocacy group Planned Parenthood Action denounced Vance as an "unqualified, anti-abortion politician who won't protect any of your rights."
The pro-abortion group Reproductive Freedom for All used similar language in an X post published shortly after Vance was revealed as Trump's running mate, condemning him as an "anti-abortion extremist" who "is out of step with the majority of Americans."
EMILY's List, which works to elect pro-abortion women to office, characterized the Trump-Vance ticket as "the most anti-abortion presidential ticket in history" and warned that "a vote for Trump is a vote for a national abortion ban and an end to access to other essential forms of reproductive health care."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
