Actually, JD Vance said he would like ‘abortion to be illegal nationally’

During the U.S. vice presidential debate between J. D. Vance and Tim Walz, Vance tried to paint his abortion views as less extreme despite openly supporting a nationwide abortion ban just two years ago.

As Election Day approaches, abortion rights are the most at stake. Between Donald Trump’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and Project 2025, many fear that his election into office would even further deteriorate women’s abortion rights and lead to Republicans also targeting access to IVF and contraceptives. Trump has denied wanting to instate a nationwide abortion ban, but his claims offer little assurance given his colleagues have already outlined their plan for such a ban in Project 2025. On top of that, his own running mate also supports a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest victims.

Vance stood on the platform on debate night and suddenly tried to sound empathetic and open-minded about abortion bans. However, in doing so, he contradicted every statement he has made on abortion in the past.

Americans won’t forget J. D. Vance’s past abortion stance

When the topic of abortion arose during the vice presidential debate, Vance did a complete 180° on his past abortion stances. At one point, Vance stated outright, “I never supported a national ban.” However, in 2022, he said, “I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” When faced with this contradiction, he then claimed that he only “talked about setting a minimum national standard,” even though that’s the same thing as a nationwide abortion ban after a minimum point or gestational limit.

His lies continued as he recounted how he grew up in a working-class family and personally knew women who had terminated their pregnancies. He even sympathetically called out one friend who was in an abusive relationship and aborted a pregnancy that would have “destroyed her life.” It was strange that he brought up the woman in an abusive relationship since he has repeatedly demanded no exceptions to abortion laws, even in cases of rape and incest. He went as far as to dismiss rape and incest as “inconvenient” while discussing the need for zero exceptions.

During the debate, Vance went on to say he and Trump were “pro-family” and wanted to support fertility treatment, even though he skipped a recent Senate vote on a bill to protect IVF access that Republicans quickly shot down. He also claimed that he changed his way of thinking about abortion after Ohio voted to pass an amendment protecting abortion access. The fact that the state voted against his stance allegedly made him realize that he needed “to do a better job of winning back people’s trust.”

However, Vance’s actual response to the Ohio voter’s decision was a fiery X post slamming the decision as “politically dumb and morally repugnant.” He indicated wanting to use the incident to learn how pro-lifers “can win the war.” Although he did mention “trust,” “morals,” and “exceptions,” it was only in relation to how the Republican party can “win” on this topic. His conclusion was, “There is something sociopathic about a political movement that tells young women (and men) that it is liberating to murder their own children. So, let’s keep fighting for our country’s children, and let’s find a way to win.”

It’s not surprising that Vance suddenly contradicts everything he has ever said about abortion. After all, it’s not the only topic on which he did a completed 180°. After comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler in 2016, he is now serving as Trump’s running mate. His pattern of backtracking on his previous statements only draws his genuineness into further scrutiny. It seems more likely that he is an opportunist and willing to do and say anything that will get him ahead politically, whether he means it or not.

Vance even admitted during the debate that the Republican Party’s views on abortion aren’t “popular.” In doing so, he confirms that the sudden shift away from openly supporting a nationwide abortion ban has nothing to do with the party learning empathy or caring about women — it’s just about popularity. Once they get the popularity necessary to win, there’s a high chance Vance and Trump will go back to their old, archaic views on the topic.