For pro-life voters there is no more important issue than the Supreme Court and the desperate need to change the makeup of a high court that is poised to continue virtually unlimited abortions another four decades. But pro-life vice-presidential running mate Mike Pence says pro-life voters can be confident that Donald Trump will select good judges for the high court.
The next president will immediately name one judge to the high court to replace pro-life Justice Antonin Scalia.
His comments about the kind of nominees Trump will put forward came during a campaign stop in Michigan:
Pence reassured a crowd in Walker that GOP presidential nominee Trump will appoint Supreme Court justices focused on overturning four decades of abortion rights rulings if he’s elected president.
“If we appoint strict constructionists to the Supreme Court as Donald Trump intends to do, I believe we will see Roe v. Wade consigned to the ash heap of history where it belongs,” Pence said during a town hall-style event at the DeltaPlex in suburban Grand Rapids.
Republican activists have viewed Pence’s addition to Trump’s ticket as helping shore up social conservative voters, especially on the issue of allowing women to chose to abort a pregnancy. Trump has stated support for abortion rights for women in the past before he ran for president, when he said he is pro-life.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the next pro-life president of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” Pence told the crowd.
At a later stop in Novi, he briefly told a crowd of about 1,000 that he and Trump support the sanctity of life, a line that was cheered.
Recently, Trump announced a list of 11 potential Supreme Court nominees — a list pro-life and conservative groups praised for having potential judges who would be Constitutionalists.
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The list of potential nominees for the seat of pro-life Supreme Court Justice Antnoin Saclia that Trump would conifer include Steven Colloton of Iowa, Allison Eid of Colorado and Raymond Gruender of Missouri.
Also on the list are: Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, Joan Larsen of Michigan, Thomas Lee of Utah, William Pryor of Alabama, David Stras of Minnesota, Diane Sykes of Wisconsin and Don Willett of Texas.
“This list was compiled, first and foremost, based on constitutional principles, with input from highly respected conservatives and Republican party leadership,” Trump’s campaign said.
If Trump is the nominee, he would present a stark contrast on abortion to pro-abortion Democrat Hillary Clinton, who promised Planned Parenthood that she would try to overturn the Hyde Amendment and force taxpayers to fund abortions.
In contrast, Trump specifically promised he would sign a bill as president to de-fund Planned Parenthood. In an interview with David Brody of CBN, Trump made that promise:
David Brody: “As a President Trump, if a bill came to your desk that would defund Planned Parenthood you would support that, you would sign that?”
Donald Trump: “Yes, because as long as they do the abortion I am not for funding Planned Parenthood… As long as they’re involved with abortion, as far as I’m concerned forget it, I wouldn’t fund them regardless. I would defund Planned Parenthood because of their view and the fact of their work on abortion…. I am for defunding Planned Parenthood as long as they are involved with abortion.”
As far as Trump’s comments on Planned Parenthood funding are concerned, Trump has fairly consistently said he opposes taxpayer funding but he’s also made some remarks about the “good things” Planned Parenthood does that have alarmed pro-life voters — as if any “good thing” could make up for the fact that Planned Parenthood kills 320,000 unborn babies a year in abortions and then sells their body parts.
Trump also said he thinks the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that ushered in an era of 56 million abortions was “wrongly decided.” Trump said he would appoint “very good judges” who would ultimately “change it” but he also said he opposed Roe, without specifically saying it should be overturned.
