Pence and Kaine agree on abortion, except when it comes to public policy
An exchange on abortion exposed a personal nuance between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate: Both men stand morally opposed to the procedure, but only Pence wants it banned.
Kaine, a Catholic, explained that while he personally opposed abortion, he joined Clinton in supporting Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion a “constitutional right.”
“I think you should live your moral values, but the last thing, the very last thing that the government should do is have laws that would punish women who make reproductive choices,” Kaine said. “And that is the fundamental difference between a Clinton-Kaine ticket and a Trump Pence ticket.”
Pence, a Christian with evangelical leanings, took issue with Kaine’s characterization: “It is really not. Donald Trump and I would never support legislation that punished women who made the heartbreaking choice to end a pregnancy.”
Kaine was referencing a statement Trump made earlier this year. He claimed during an MSNBC town hall that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who undergo abortions. Trump later walked back the statement.
(Officially, Trump has said abortion should be banned with exceptions for rape, incest and when a pregnancy endangers the life of the mother.)
And while Trump was pro-choice as recently as 1999, the Indiana governor has built a reputation as an unwavering opponent of abortion.
In March, he made Indiana the second state in the nation to ban abortions because the fetus has a disability, as the Indianapolis Star reported. At a July campaign event, he promised Roe V. Wade would be overturned if Trump wins.
“I’m pro-life and I don’t apologize for it,” Pence said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We’ll see Roe vs. Wade consigned to the ash heap of history where it belongs.”
Indeed, as Tuesday's debate hinted, the two candidates’ policy records on the topic couldn’t be more different: Kaine received a perfect voting record from Planned Parenthood, while Pence has earned a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee.
“I know, senator, you hold pro-life views personally,” Pence said Tuesday, “but the very idea that a child that is almost born into the world could still have their life taken from them is just anathema to me. I cannot conscience a party that supports that.”