Former US Vice President Mike Pence on Friday urged his Republican primary rivals to back a federal law that would restrict abortion time limits in a bid to lead a debate front-runner Donald Trump would avoid. Nearly a year after the Supreme Court struck down federal abortion rights protections, Pence challenged his competitors for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2024 election.
During the “Road to Majority” conference, which brought together 3,000 evangelical conservatives in Washington, Pence declared, “The fact is that abortion law in the United States is more aligned with China and North Korea than it is with Western countries in Europe.” He added that all Republican presidential candidates should support banning abortion before 15 weeks as a minimum rule across the country.
Although Pence did not mention Trump directly, his speech seemed directed toward him. The former president believes the conservative religious base was crucial to his 2016 victory and remains important to his ambitions to return to the White House. During his tenure, Trump nominated three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, which recently overturned the famous 1973 “Roe v. Wade” ruling that guaranteed federal protection for abortion.
Anti-abortion activists are surprised that Trump refuses to publicly endorse a national ban on abortion. Pence mentioned Trump’s criticisms and warned against the tendency to go too far to the right on this issue. Pence emphasized that life is the most important cause and that the sanctity of life must be placed at the center of American law in every state in the country.
The “Road to Majority” conference brought the leading Republican candidates together on the same stage, two months before the first Republican presidential debate scheduled for August. Trump will speak at the conference on Saturday, while another Republican pre-candidate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, will speak on Friday.