While defending his stance that abortion should be banned regardless of circumstances, J. D. Vance reached a new low by calling rape and incest “inconvenient.”
When Donald Trump selected J. D. Vance as his running mate, he managed to put women’s abortion rights into further jeopardy. Many suspect that, given his pride in overturning Roe v. Wade and alleged ties to Project 2025, Trump will seek to further take away abortion access if elected into office. The Heritage Foundation, which is filled with Trump supporters and former administrative staff members, penned Project 2025 to outline MAGA’s plans to essentially dismantle democracy in America if Trump is elected. One of the agendas highlighted in the plan is to enact a nationwide abortion ban and defund Planned Parenthood. It also uses language that could threaten women’s access to IVF and contraceptives.
Although Trump has claimed he isn’t interested in a nationwide abortion ban and wants to leave abortion rights in the hands of the states, his running mate is. In 2022, Vance stated, “I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” Upon his selection as vice president, he tried walking back his statement and claimed he agreed with Trump that abortion was a state issue. However, his chilling response to the topic of abortion law exceptions for rape and incest victims is a testimony to his extreme views on abortion rights.
J. D. Vance’s heartless stance on incest and rape victims
Ahead of the U.S. vice presidential debate between Vance and Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ campaign account on X, Kamala HQ, resurfaced audio of Vance responding to a question about abortion rights. He was asked, “Should a woman be forced to carry a child to term after she has been the victim of incest or rape?” Vance immediately responded that it shouldn’t be about the victim but should solely be about “whether a child should be allowed to live even though the circumstances of that child’s birth are somehow inconvenient.”
In the audio, he almost sounds sarcastic as he mentions how the child should live even if the circumstances of its conception are somehow inconvenient and problematic. Not only is he claiming that rape and incest are a mere “inconvenience,” but he seems to be expressing skepticism and annoyance that society and women would even so much as classify these crimes or the product of these crimes as “inconvenient.” He solely wants people to see pregnancy as a positive thing while basically excluding the woman or girl and the circumstances of their pregnancy completely from the equation. There aren’t even any words strong enough to describe the trauma and horror of a woman or child facing an unwanted pregnancy due to a sexual assault. According to Vance, though, it’s just a minor inconvenience that society should stop seeing as “problematic.”
This isn’t the first time Vance’s horrific views on abortion rights for victims of rape and incest have arisen. Another time, when asked if there should be rape and incest exceptions for abortion laws, his chilling response was, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” Once again, he downplayed the seriousness of rape and incest, classifying these despicable crimes as a “wrong” equivalent to a woman having an abortion. He doesn’t even attempt to denounce those crimes, as his only concern is ensuring that women and children will have to pay the price for others’ crimes.
These horrific statements may be raised during the vice presidential debate. Although he’ll likely try to deny them, they are on the record in audio and writing. Republican politicians may try stepping back from some of their extreme views for the sake of popularity, but their real sentiments aren’t hard to find. Pro-Trumper Charlie Kirk recently confirmed nonchalantly that if his 10-year-old daughter were left pregnant from a sexual assault, he would force her to deliver the baby and undergo the extreme trauma of childbirth. The thought of forcing anyone, whether a woman or a child, to give birth after being a victim of a horrific, life-altering crime should make one sick. Yet, conservatives like Vance tout their willingness to do this quite proudly.
Rachel Ulatowski
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