VP JD Vance: No More Harassing of Pro-Lifers
Speaking on Friday at the 20th National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C, Vice President J.D. Vance drew strong policy distinctions with the previous White House.
“Now we know the last administration liked to throw people in jail for silently praying outside [abortion] clinics,” he told those gathered. “We know that they liked to harass pro-life fathers of seven, very often Catholic fathers for participating in the pro-life movement. And we know that the last administration wanted to protect taxpayer-funded abortion right up to the moment of birth.”
Vice President Vance then stated:
“And on every single one of those issues, in 30 short days, Donald J. Trump has gone in the exact opposite direction.”
Since taking the oath of office on January 20, President Trump pardoned 23 pro-life advocates who had been arrested and jailed (some up to almost five years) for protesting at abortion clinics.
In appealing to President Trump on their behalf, the Thomas More Society stressed, “These individuals participated in mere peaceable civil disobedience, in the heralded tradition of the American Civil Rights activists. Peaceable actions like these usually merit, at worst, a minor misdemeanor conviction.”
In addition, the Trump administration has banned all taxpayer-funded military abortion travel, reinstated the “Mexico City Policy” which prevents U.S. taxpayer funds from paying for abortions in other countries, and reinstated the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Humans Services, who said “every abortion is a tragedy,” has pledged to carry out the pro-life priorities of the Trump administration. This includes enacting a ban on fetal stem cell research, ending late-term abortions, investigating the current use of abortion pills, and protecting the rights of doctors who refuse to conduct abortions due to their religious convictions.
Newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi has also pledged to prosecute those who illegally sell abortion pills. FBI Director Kash Patel has also assured the American people that his agency will no longer be targeted pro-life Americans.
The National Catholic Prayer Breakfast began in 2004 after Pope John Paul II had challenged members of his church to look for new and creative ways to evangelize the world.
Speaking on Friday to those gathered inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Vice President Vance reflected, “I think that what the Catholic Church calls me to do is, to say that as the stock market is doing OK, but people are literally dying and losing years off of their life, then we have to do better as a country.”
During his remarks, Vance, who is a Catholic convert, also referenced differences he’s had of late with church leadership over the Trump administration’s immigration policies. While acknowledging the inevitability of seeing things from another point of view, the vice president served up something of a challenge, too.
“I think it’s incumbent upon our religious leaders to recognize that in the era of social media, people will hang on every single word that they utter, even if that wasn’t their intention, and even if a given declaration wasn’t meant for consumption in the social media age,” Vance said.
In a post-Roe and Dobbs world, pro-life advocates continue to debate the most effective strategies and policies as we engage on both a national and state level. Regardless of these tactical and even practical differences, the Trump administration has made clear their willingness to cooperate and help advance a culture of life.
Image from Getty.
