Former Vice President Mike Pence, a longtime leader of the anti-abortion movement, waged a lone campaign to block the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health. His organization, Advancing American Freedom, has been running ads against Kennedy. Mr. Pence accused Mr. Kennedy of promoting “abortion on demand.”
His fellow anti-abortion opponents aren't listening.
Thousands of anti-abortion activists gathered in Washington on Friday to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which established a constitutional right to abortion. President Trump addressed the crowd on video at the March for Our Lives. Vice President JD Vance spoke directly. Kennedy, whose comments on abortion deeply disturbed many conservatives, was not on the agenda or mentioned.
But in a sign of the Republican right's flattery with Mr. Trump, and perhaps a sign of the deepening rift between Mr. Pence and the president, leaders of the anti-abortion movement lined up behind Mr. Kennedy. I'm here. , or at least not openly opposed to him.
Tim Chapman, who is leading Pence's campaign as president of the American Freedom Group, said other conservative figures privately agree with the former vice president. However, he said he did not want to say it publicly. He said conservative leaders who were unable to oppose Mr. Kennedy were abandoning their traditional role of pressuring party leaders on issues important to the movement.
“His confirmation now brings to light the real question of what this movement exists to do,” Chapman said, adding, “We have the freedom to fly the flag and we “I know there are many people who agree with that opinion,” he added. I hope they will join us. ”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.
Anti-abortion groups and Christian conservatives have rallied around Trump since his 2016 election, when he promised to appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe. he was successful. This decision was overturned in 2022.
At Friday's march, Trump repeated false claims about abortion rights, saying he would “stop radical Democrats' push for a federal right to have unlimited abortions on demand up to the moment of birth and even after birth.” ” he swore. Vance called Trump “the most pro-life American president in our lifetime.” The crowd roared.
Mr. Trump risked alienating these supporters by choosing Mr. Kennedy as health secretary.
Instead, two influential anti-abortion groups, Students for Life of America and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, have avoided taking positions on Mr. Kennedy. March chairwoman Jeanne F. Mancini praised Kennedy. Anti-abortion senators, including Alabama's Tommy Tuberville and Missouri's Josh Hawley, welcomed Kennedy and reassured him that they support Trump's anti-abortion policies.
Roger Severino, the man who created the policy during the first Trump administration, gave Kennedy his full support. As director of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights, Severino gave the agency a new name: the Office of Life. He drafted the section on abortion in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's pre-election blueprint for the Trump presidency.
“I am confident that Bobby Kennedy will be confirmed and restore President Trump's stellar anti-pro-life record during his first term,” Severino said in a text message. “He recognizes that abortion is a tragedy and has surrounded himself with conservatives who have a track record of reversing Biden's radical and unpopular abortion policies.”
Rep. Robert B. Aderholt, Republican of Alabama and chairman of the conservative House Values and Action Team, said in an interview that he understands Mr. Pence's reluctance, but doesn't want Mr. Kennedy to become health secretary. He said he was not concerned. “I got the impression that his focus would be less on the pro-abortion agenda,” Aderholt said.
Kennedy's comments on abortion were reported around the world. While running for president in 2023, Kennedy said he supported a federal ban on first-trimester abortions, but quickly backtracked. In May, while still a candidate, he posted a lengthy message on social media outlining his views.
“I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unlimited until a certain point,” he wrote. “I believe that point should be the point at which the baby can survive outside the womb.”
Now, in an effort to win approval, Mr. Kennedy is making concrete policy pledges. Hawley said Kennedy promised to rescind rules issued by the Biden administration that protect patients who have had abortions and that “every member” of the Department of Health and Human Services would oppose abortion.
Hawley also pledged to restore protections for health care workers who refuse to perform abortions because of their own objections, he said on social media. And Hawley said Kennedy supports banning clinics funded by the 55-year-old Title X family planning program from discussing abortion with patients. Federal law already prohibits Title X clinics from referring patients to abortion providers.
Mr. Tuberville also returned satisfied after his meeting with Mr. Kennedy. “He's telling everyone, 'Listen, whatever President Trump is, I support him 100 percent,'” he told reporters.
Pence has been at odds with Trump since presiding over Congress' certification of the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021, when the Capitol was stormed by a pro-Trump mob.
The fight against Republicans became personal. Katie Miller, a former Pence aide who is now Kennedy's press secretary, launched a scathing attack on her former boss on social media last week, alleging that Pence accused her husband, Stephen, of dating her when their daughter was two months old. He accused Miller of firing him because he fired him. He worked for Trump.
“The American people clearly don't care what Mike Pence has to say. He lost badly to President Trump,” she wrote. “Our country is moving forward, and it's time for him to move on. He's just a footnote in American history.”
Mr. Trump has taken a delicate position on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe. He is trying to avoid this problem by saying it should be left to each state. On Thursday, he pardoned 23 anti-abortion protesters, including some convicted of blocking clinics.
Abortion opponents argue that if Kennedy becomes health secretary, it is the president's duty to appoint other abortion opponents to key positions within the Department of Health and Human Services. But they have stopped short of speaking out against Mr. Kennedy.
“While we disagree with President Trump on whether abortion is a federal and state issue or a state-only issue, pro-life Americans can work with this team,” said Students for Life of America. chairman Kristan Hawkins wrote in The Week magazine last month. The Federalist, a conservative online magazine.
On Thursday, before the march, Mr. Pence's organization renewed its opposition to Mr. Kennedy and released an open letter emphasizing its rejection of vaccines and other unorthodox policies.
“RFK Jr. has supported dangerous health conspiracy theories, abortion on demand, and increased access to psychedelics,” Chapman and Pence's other top adviser, Marc Short, wrote on social media. Ta. “Senators must approach this selection with clear eyes and reject his nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services.”
