The organization of former Vice President Mike Pence is pushing senators not to confirm Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services because of his views on abortion.
Advancing American Freedom (AAF) outlines five questions for Kennedy to answer in a letter first obtained by The Daily Wire. The letter notes that Kennedy has previously said that a woman should have the right to an abortion “even if [the baby] is full term.”
That position is “completely out of step with the strong, pro-life record of the first Trump Administration,” AAF President Tim Chapman and Chairman of the Board Marc Short wrote in the letter.
“While RFK Jr. has made certain overtures to pro-life leaders that he would be mindful of their concerns at HHS, there is little reason for confidence at this time,” they added, according to The Daily Wire. “There are hundreds of decisions made every day at HHS that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it—decisions about federal funding for Planned Parenthood, regulations on the abortion pill (currently accounting for three out of every five abortions), insurance coverage of abortion, and more.”
Some pro-life Republicans have been concerned about Kennedy’s abortion views, but Kennedy calmed the waters as he spoke to Missouri Senator Josh Hawley on December 17, according to the conservative outlet.
Hawley said that Kennedy had committed to once again put in place Trump’s pro-life policies at the department.
Kennedy is reported to have promised Hawley that “all of his deputies at HHS would be pro-life.”
“He told me he believes there are far too many abortions in the U.S. and that we cannot be the moral leader of the free world with abortion rates so high,” Hawley said, according to The Daily Wire.
But AAF is still not satisfied, writing in their letter that “Whatever the merits of RFK Jr’s Make America Healthy Again initiative—indeed, whatever other qualities a nominee might possess—an HHS Secretary must have a firm commitment to protect unborn children, or else bend under the pressure and pushback surrounding these daily, critical decisions.”
The organization added that it “strongly” encourages senators “to reject the nomination of any pro-abortion nominees to serve at HHS.”
They went on to argue that Kennedy “must be able to provide satisfactory answers to the list of important pro-life questions” including “When do you believe that life should be protected?”
The organization said that Kennedy must also say at what level of development he thinks babies should receive protections from the government and whether there are any circumstances under which he think babies should not be protected.
AAF argued that Kennedy must also speak about his stance on abortion pills and that he should commit to stopping tax funding for abortions.
“I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades,” Pence said in a statement.
NEW: Statement from Founder @Mike_Pence on the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS. pic.twitter.com/gPvFDktycl
— Advancing American Freedom (@AmericanFreedom) November 15, 2024
The Kennedy campaign previously told The Washington Post in an email that Kennedy did not support a federal abortion ban, writing that he “supports a woman’s right to choose. He believes the issue of late-term abortions is being used to artificially divide the American public.”
“Practically speaking, these are exceedingly rare, and almost always done in situations of medical emergency,” the campaign added. “While they are both tragic and disturbing, Mr. Kennedy believes it is not up to the government to intervene in these difficult medical and moral choices. That should be left up to the woman and her doctor.”
Kennedy dropped out of the presidential race and suspended his independent campaign in August and endorsed Trump.
