Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his running mate, lawyer and philanthropist Nicole Shanhan, appear to be at odds over their stances on abortion after Kennedy said he’s against government limits on abortion and would not oppose women having abortions at full term — a virtually nonexistent scenario in the U.S.
Shanahan said “my understanding with Bobby is that every abortion is a tragedy, is a loss of life” and “that he absolutely believes in limits on abortion” when confronted with Kennedy’s comments on former ESPN host Sage Steele’s podcast last week.
In a separate episode of Steele’s podcast, recorded earlier but released Thursday, Kennedy did say, “every abortion is a tragedy… but I think ultimately I don’t trust the government to have jurisdiction over people’s bodies.”
“I would leave it to the states. I believe we should leave it to the woman, we shouldn’t have government involved,” Kennedy told Steele. “Even if it’s full term.”
When pressed with Kennedy’s position, Shanahan argued there was a miscommunication and said “that is not my understanding of his position.”
“I think what he's saying is, is that it should always feel like a woman's choice to the final moment because if you’re forcing a woman to have a baby, that is a very painful situation for that woman to be in,” Shanahan said. “What you need to do is create an environment in which that woman realizes this is a beautiful opportunity to become a mom and to welcome a new life into this world and that it is the most sacred, wonderful thing” by creating a healthcare system that stops “terrifying women… because they’re fearful of giving birth.”
“I think that's what Bobby means. I think Bobby means it should always feel like you’re moving into this moment on your own accord,” she added.
She went on to say “viability” of the fetus and “a chance to thrive are both very important to look at” when it comes to determining when abortions should be allowed, noting that medical science advances means viability “is becoming earlier and earlier.”
Kennedy’s campaign did not answer questions on Thursday on what Shanahan’s exact position is regarding abortion restrictions or whether the pair had since discussed the issue since their respective interviews.
“Mr. Kennedy believes that abortion is a tragedy, and that late-term abortions are horrifying. He believes that the mother has the final say, and moral responsibility, in such decisions,” the campaign said in a statement. “He is committed to reducing the abortion rate by supporting mothers and families and implementing universally affordable child care.”
They directed questions to Kennedy’s abortion policy page on his campaign website, where he proposes a policy of redirecting U.S. dollars for Ukraine’s war effort to subsidizing daycare to reduce the financial burden on mothers with the goal of reducing abortions “by choice, not by force.” It does not detail how he would handle state abortion bans as president nor proposed federal bans.
In the interview with Steele, Kennedy framed his perspective as one of a defender of bodily autonomy and “medical freedom,” but said his goal was to reduce abortions by addressing the underlying economic conditions.
Last August, Kennedy told an NBC News reporter at the Iowa State Fair that he would support a national ban after three months of pregnancy, but his campaign walked that back the same day arguing he misheard the question amid the chaos of the fair.
“I believe a decision to abort a child should be up to the women during the first three months of life,” Kennedy said at the time. His campaign said later that day that he actually “does not support legislation banning abortion.”
Kennedy is working on getting on the ballot in all 50 states to mount one of the more serious third-party challenges in recent cycles. He is polling around 10% in national surveys, according to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are hovering around 41% each, though each campaign has upped the offensive on Kennedy amid concerns he could woo their respective supporters.
“A vote Junior would essentially be a wasted protest vote that could swing either way, but would only swing against the Democrats if Republicans knew the true story about him,” Trump said in a video posted on social media on Thursday. “He is not a Republican so don’t think you’re going to vote for him and feel good.”