Why 'unpopular' Pence likely won’t succeed as 'most anti-abortion candidate out there': columnist

15 July 2023

Earlier this week, former Vice President and 2024 GOP candidate Mike Pence told The Associated Press he believes women should not have access to abortions under any circumstance.

The AP reported the ex-vice president's "standard would force women to carry pregnancies to term even when doctors have determined there is no chance a baby will survive outside the womb."

Pence told the news outlet, "I'm pro-life. I don't apologize for it. I want to always err on the side of life. I would hold that view in these matters because … I honestly believe that we got this extraordinary opportunity in the country today to restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law."

In a Guardian op-ed published Saturday, July 15, columnist Arwa Mahdaw referenced Pence AP interview, arguing the GOP hopeful's anti-abortion views will likely prevent him from ever becoming president.

Mahdaw mentions how during his AP interview, the former vice president insisted that he's "heard so many stories" from "women and families" who "had a healthy pregnancy and a healthy delivery" despite being told "their unborn child would not go to term."

She then challenges Pence's statement, saying, "He thinks he should be able to regulate women's bodies based on a couple of stories he supposedly once heard."

The columnist argues there are many "stories of women dying horrible and unnecessary deaths because religious extremists forced them to carry babies who would never live," emphasizing, "In a post-Roe America, these stories are going to keep on coming. And people like Pence, of course, will refuse to listen to them."

Mahdaw writes:

I wonder if Pence has heard Mayron Hollis's story? Last year the Tennessee woman had to have a lifesaving emergency hysterectomy, after she says she was denied medically necessary abortion care for life-threatening complications in her pregnancy. She won’t be able to give birth to any more children now because anti-abortion zealots banned her from the medical help she needed.

Perhaps Pence would like to hear the story of Izabela, a 30-year-old woman, who reportedly died of septic shock in Poland in 2021. Doctors wouldn't perform an abortion even though her fetus was lacking amniotic fluid. She is thought to be the first person to die as a result of Poland's restrictive new abortion laws.

Furthermore, Mahdaw calls it "unusual" that Pence believes he has a chance at winning as "the most anti-abortion candidate out there" — "despite the fact he's an unpopular candidate," with "extremist" opinions that remain "unpopular among most Americans."

Mahdaw's full Guardian op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).

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