Vance signals further GOP retreat on life protections

Vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said during an interview that aired on Sunday that former President Donald Trump would likely veto a national law protecting the unborn from abortion. Trump wants individual states to enact abortion legislation that aligns with each state’s unique cultural and political beliefs, Vance told NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. A national law would cause non-stop federal conflict and Trump wants to end the culture war over abortion, he added.

Is this a surprising twist to the campaign? Trump’s softened pro-life stance started showing last September when he characterized a Florida heartbeat law protecting children from abortion after six weeks in the womb as a terrible mistake. The Republican party made a notable retreat on the fight for life in its latest campaign platform published last month. While the new platform expressed opposition to late-term abortions, it did not call for a national law protecting unborn babies, as it did in prior years.

How are Democrats responding to the shifted platform? American women are not stupid and will not trust two men who have openly bragged about ending abortion access, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in response to Vance’s Sunday interview. Harris has continued to reference the GOP’s historic opposition to abortion while ignoring the recent platform changes. Pro-life advocates are right-wing extremists who want to restrict access to abortion, and Harris will defeat them, Warren earlier told crowds at the Democratic National Convention.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on pro-life advocates questioning Planned Parenthood’s tax status following the DNC.