Two conservative groups opposed to abortion rights announced Friday that they supported President-elect Donald Trump’s choice. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, after former vice president Mike Pence criticized the selection due to abortion concerns.
If confirmed to the position, Kennedy would have great authority on a number of agencies that could directly affect abortion access nationwide, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In an article published Friday, Pence criticized Kennedy’s selection as “the most pro-abortion Republican appointed HHS secretary in modern history.”
“On behalf of tens of millions of pro-life Americans, I respectfully urge Senate Republicans to reject this nomination and give the American people a leader who will respect the sanctity of life,” Pence said in a statement published by the group Advancing American Freedom. , calling the choice “deeply concerning for millions of pro-life Americans.”
Some Trump allies have rejected Pence’s objection, arguing that there is no reason to believe that Kennedy would go against the agenda that Republicans developed over the summer and which, to a large extent, , reported the problem to the States.
“RFK Jr. is going to serve at the pleasure of the president. And the president has been very clear that his policy is that there is no federal role in abortion,” said Terry Schilling, head of the American Principles Project, at CBS News.
Schilling’s political action committee bills itself as “the only national pro-family organization” engaging directly in elections on a range of issues, including opposition to abortion and gender-affirming care. He said they spent $18 million on election campaigns this year and also planned to work to support Kennedy’s nomination.
He pointed to other areas where Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda could find common ground with conservatives, citing Kennedy’s agenda. questioning past positions puberty blockers and other types of hormone therapy for transgender minors.
“Trump chose him because of his ‘Make America Healthy’ agenda. And it’s very clear that there are a lot of problems in our country, and I think RFK Jr. is the best person placed to get to the bottom of this,” Schilling said.
Another major activist group, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, also expressed concerns about Kennedy’s choice.
“There is no doubt that we need a pro-life HHS secretary, and of course we have concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the group, said in a press release.
But whoever becomes HHS secretary, Dannenfelser also said he believes the “basic policies” established by Trump’s first term will return.
A person close to the president-elect’s transition said she did not think the abortion issue would pose a real obstacle to Kennedy’s confirmation, and said she was not surprised that Pence was making an argument against Kennedy.
Trump expressed support for Kennedy “Make America Healthy Again” Platform during the campaign, and offered to let him “run amok on health care” in the new administration.
“Do whatever you want. Go for it. Work on pesticides, work on women’s health. He’s so interested in women’s health, and you know he’s really amazing. It’s such a passion ” Trump said of Kennedy on November 4.
In a statement, the group Americans United for Life told CBS News it was “optimistic about working with RFK Jr. to right the wrongs of the Biden/Harris administration.”
But they also seemed to recognize that his views were not fully aligned.
“Like many newcomers to the conservative pro-life movement, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. needs to be more informed about the reality of abortion and its harmful effects,” said John Mize, the group’s CEO, to CBS News in a statement.
Mize pointed to Kennedy’s comments at the Iowa State Fair in August, in which he suggested he would support a federal ban on abortion. The Kennedy campaign later returned to this point – one of several changes Kennedy evolved his position on abortion during his long-running presidential campaign.
Before abandonmentKennedy said in June that he supported “the emerging consensus that abortion should be unlimited to a certain point,” while also calling for policies that could “reduce more abortions in America by choice than by strength.”
There are ways Kennedy could go further to solidify his support among anti-abortion activists, Mize said.
As an “important signal to the movement,” Mize suggested, Kennedy could support reinstating FDA restrictions requiring in-person prescribing of the drug. abortion pill mifepristone. More than 60% of abortions in the United States in 2023 involved the use of pills, and many prescriptions are now obtained via telehealth.
