Former Vice President Mike Pence is giving credit to his onetime boss and running mate former President Donald Trump, as well as the American people generally, for what may be an overturning of the landmark 1973 abortion ruling Roe v. Wade.
In an interview with The Daily Wire early Saturday ahead of his commencement speech at Patrick Henry College later Saturday evening, Pence remarked on the leak of a draft ruling by the high court to POLITICO earlier this week which has caused a great deal of consternation and anger on the left and right, though for much different reasons:
The former vice president suggested that overturning Roe v. Wade and returning the power to decide abortion back to the states would prompt Americans to take a closer look at who they elect on the state level.
He referenced leftist hopes that increased focus on Roe would drive voters to the polls, noting that Democratic lawmakers wish to change the subject and distract from inflation, the crisis at the southern border, and more.
“I have a very different thought,” said Pence, a former U.S. congressman from Indiana. “I have a sense that should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade and return the question of abortion to the states, there’s going to be millions of Americans who take a harder look at who they are supporting and electing as governor and as their state legislators on the issues of life.”
“And I think in a very real sense, not only will the prospect of this decision potentially give us a new beginning for life in this country, which I think is the most important moral question in America today, but also I think it will revive a political debate at the state level,” he added.
Overturning Roe may “set the stage for an incredible renewal of everything that’s always made this country great at the state and federal level, in 2022, 2024 and beyond,” Pence predicted.
“I think you will see, people around the country will be looking for women and men who are willing to stand with them on life, on religious liberty, on parental rights,” he said.
The decision that was leaked to POLITICO was a draft written by Justice Samuel Alito in February; it was not the high court’s official ruling. However, if it stands, the decision overturns Roe and sends the issue back to the states. And if that happens, Pence says that the credit should go “first and foremost to the American people who supported a candidate and a ticket that were unapologetically pro-life.”
“Both President Trump and I spoke plainly in the campaign in 2016 about our commitment to the sanctity of life,” he said. “I couldn’t be more proud to have been part of the most pro-life administration in American history. President Trump kept his word, appointed strict constructionists to the Supreme Court of the United States. And it should come as no surprise that three of the justices, out of the five, in the draft opinion, were appointed by our administration.”
“Our record on life didn’t stop at the Supreme Court,” he noted. “We saw the appointment and confirmation of nearly 300 other conservative judges to our federal courts at every level. We reestablished the Mexico City policy that banned federal dollars from supporting organizations around the world that provide or promote abortion. We provided millions of dollars of support to crisis pregnancy centers around the country. As vice president, I was the first official at my level to ever visit a crisis pregnancy center while in office. And I was honored to do so.”
“Our record on the right to life was consistent,” he said. “Pro-lifers around America, me included, couldn’t be more grateful that President Donald Trump kept his word and appointed conservatives to our court.”
“When Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will be because of the appointments that President Trump made to the court and the willingness of the American people to support an administration and to support Republican leaders in the United States Senate who stood by the right to life,” he said, going on to note that the leak was a “despicable act” that should be punished.
