This is what JD Vance really meant when he talked about a friend's abortion on Debate

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance was desperate to let America know that he has friends who have had abortions.

But before Vance began his “dear” friend’s story, he should have signaled to the audience that she was okay with the story being told on national television. Without that reassurance, it sounded like Vance was ripping off a friend for seeking life-saving medical care that she may or may not have wanted.

The story should inspire compassion. Vance told the audience that his girlfriend “felt like if she hadn't had that abortion, she would have destroyed her life because she was in an abusive relationship.” Vance then looked directly into the camera and said, “I know that she’s watching tonight and I love you.”

Suddenly I thought of all the women who are friends with Vance, sitting at debate parties and feeling all eyes on them, wondering, “Is he talking about this?” You?”

At first, Vance seemed to say he understood why his friend sought an abortion. This was a change from his previous position in 2023, when he joined other Republicans in signing a letter insisting that “abortion is not health care – it is a brutal act that destroys the life of an unborn child and women injured.”

When Vance admits that he is close to someone who has had an abortion, it is like saying, “Some of my best friends are black/Jewish/Muslim” to defend himself against accusations of racism/anti-Semitism/Islamophobia. Vance turned his girlfriend into a human shield to gain pity not for her but for him.

A closer reading shows how the bait came about:

Norah O'Donnell: Senator, would you like to respond to the governor's request? Will you create a federal agency to monitor pregnancy?

What Vance said: No, Norah, definitely not.

What Vance meant: “I mean, we'd like to do it, but it wouldn't be popular. Even I can see it reeks of Handmaid’s Tale.”

Vance said: And I want to talk about this issue because I know it's close to the hearts of many Americans, and I know that many Americans don't agree with everything I've ever said on this issue.

Vance said: “Gallup polls show that 85% of Americans believe abortion should be legal at least in some circumstances, so I need to abandon my extremist views to align myself with the center.”

CBS News

Vance said: And you know, I grew up in a working-class family in a neighborhood where I knew a lot of young women who had unplanned pregnancies and chose to terminate those pregnancies because they felt like they had no other choice. And one of them is actually very close to my heart. And I know she's watching tonight and I love you. And she told me a few years ago that she felt like if she hadn't had that abortion, it would have destroyed her life because she was in an abusive relationship. And I think that's what I conclude as a Republican who proudly wants to protect innocent life in this country, who proudly wants to protect the vulnerable, that my party needs to do a much better job of earning the trust of the American people on this issue has returned, although To be honest, we just don't trust it.

Vance said: “I know. I know. It sounded like I took something away from my dear friend's story Was It will be that abortion is a life-saving decision for many women… You were wrong! That's not my conclusion at all.

Vance said: And I think that's one of the things that Donald Trump and I are striving for. I want us as the Republican Party to be family-friendly in the truest sense of the word. I want us to support fertility treatments. I want us to make it easier for mothers to be able to afford to have a child. I want to make it easier for young families to afford a home so they can afford a place to raise their family. And I think there's so much we can do on the policy front to give women more opportunities.

Vance Menat: “I still think abortion is a terrible thing and we need to do more to convince women to carry their pregnancies to full term, even if they are in an abusive relationship.”

Vance said: Now, of course, Donald Trump has made it very clear that we have a large and diverse country, particularly when it comes to abortion policy.

Vance said: “Of course, Donald Trump hasn’t been very clear. He veered from saying that women who have abortions should be punished to saying he would veto a national abortion plan. Basically, my candidate will say anything to get white suburban women to vote for him and keep him out of prison.”

Mike Segar/Reuters

Vance said: And California has a different perspective on this than Georgia. Georgia has a different point of view than Arizona. And the right way to deal with this, as messy as democracy can be at times, is to let voters make those decisions and let individual states determine their abortion policies.

Vance said: “So in 2023, my own state passed a constitutional amendment that codified reproductive rights in the Ohio Constitution, including contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care and abortion up to fetal viability. That's why I have said bluntly, “I would definitely like to see abortions be illegal on a national level. And yes, that would be one National abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest, because “two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Vance said: And I think that makes the most sense in a very large, very diverse and, let's face it, sometimes a very, very chaotic and divided country.

Vance said: “I said, 'Let's be honest,' and the statement that followed – that sometimes we are 'a very, very chaotic and divided country' – was perhaps one of the few honest things I said all evening.”

In short, Vance wants women to have a choice…as long as that choice doesn't involve abortion. He may love his girlfriend, but he would have preferred her to have the baby even if “it would have ruined her life.”

Vance calls the abortion issue “chaotic,” but Tim Walz was able to sum up his party’s elegant solution in six words: “We trust women.” We trust doctors.”