{"id":33373,"date":"2025-01-31T17:36:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T17:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/?p=33373"},"modified":"2025-01-31T17:44:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T17:44:30","slug":"robert-f-kennedy-jr-pledges-to-carry-out-trumps-policies-on-abortion-conscience-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cincinnatirighttolife.org\/robert-f-kennedy-jr-pledges-to-carry-out-trumps-policies-on-abortion-conscience-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Pledges to Carry Out Trump’s Policies on Abortion, Conscience Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Madalaine Elhabbal, originally published January 29, 2025, National Catholic Register\/CNA<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the three-hour hearing, Kennedy fielded questions on his interpretation of Title X, late-term abortions, mifepristone, stem-cell research and medical conscience rights.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his first confirmation hearing, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated at several points that he would implement President Donald Trump\u2019s pro-life policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republican and Democrat senators on the Senate Finance Committee pressed Kennedy on his views on abortion and \u201creproductive health,\u201d asking him how he would approach the issue of life while carrying out his duties as head of HHS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the three-hour hearing, Kennedy fielded questions on his interpretation of Title X, late-term abortions, mifepristone, stem-cell research and medical conscience rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to support President Trump\u2019s policies on Title X,\u201d Kennedy said in his first exchange regarding abortion with Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy,\u201d Kennedy stated. \u201cI agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions per year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to serve at the pleasure of the president,\u201d he continued. \u201cI\u2019m going to implement his policies,\u201d he said, revealing that Trump had expressed his desire for Kennedy to end late-term abortions, enact protections for conscious exemptions, and end federal funding for abortions in the U.S. and abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On medical-conscience exemptions, Kennedy said: \u201cWhat patient would want somebody doing a surgery on them that, you know, believes that that surgery is against their conscience and is being forced to perform that? I don\u2019t know anybody who would want to have a doctor perform a surgery that the doctor is morally opposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForcing somebody to participate in a medical procedure as a provider that they believe is murder does not make any sense to me,\u201d he continued, adding: \u201cWe need to welcome diversity in this country, we need to respect diversity, and we need to respect each other when we have different opinions and not, you know, not force our opinions on other people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy also answered questions on his views regarding chemical abortions, stating that his approach to the drug would mirror that of Trump, who, he noted, has yet to adopt an official position on whether he supports the use of chemical abortion drugs such as mifepristone. The HHS nominee did, however, criticize the Biden administration for deregulating the abortion drug and for ending reporting requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mifepristone is a drug used to induce a chemical abortion by blocking the hormone progesterone, which cuts off the child\u2019s supply of oxygen and nutrients. The Food and Drug Administration\u2019s label estimates that about 1 in 25 women who take mifepristone \u201cwill visit the emergency room.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt should be reported; I mean, it\u2019s against everything we believe in in this country, that patients or doctors should not be reporting adverse events,\u201d Kennedy said, adding: \u201cI think it\u2019s immoral to have a policy where patients are not allowed to report adverse events or doctors are discouraged from doing that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several members of the committee questioned Kennedy on his past pro-abortion views, including Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan, who quoted Kennedy as saying: \u201cI don\u2019t think the government has any business telling people what they can or cannot do with their body\u201d during a campaign visit to New Hampshire in 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy responded simply: \u201cI agree with President Trump \u2014 every abortion is a tragedy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., questioned Kennedy about his support for stem-cell research at the University of Washington, which the senator said had conducted \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d research using fetal heart tissue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy responded by saying: \u201cI will protect stem-cell research, and today stem-cell research can be done on umbilical cords.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need fetal tissue,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November, then-U.S. President-elect Trump nominated Kennedy<\/a> to serve as the United States secretary of the HHS, a position that requires Senate confirmation. HHS oversees 10 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy is a former Democrat. He ran for president<\/a> as an Independent in 2024 before dropping out<\/a> and endorsing Trump<\/a>. Kennedy is set to have another hearing tomorrow before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madalaine Elhabbal is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency based at EWTN\u2019s Washington, D.C., bureau.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Madalaine Elhabbal, originally published January 29, 2025, National Catholic Register\/CNA In the three-hour hearing, Kennedy fielded questions on his interpretation of Title X, late-term abortions, mifepristone, stem-cell research and medical conscience rights. During his first confirmation hearing, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated at several…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRobert F. 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