Governor Andy Beshear’s recent comments targeting Vice Presidential candidate and Ohio Senator JD Vance have sparked heated discussions on social media, particularly regarding the issue of abortion. These remarks were made during a speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday evening.
In a subsequent interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Beshear was queried about the Republican Party’s position on abortion and took the opportunity to criticize Vance, whom he has previously labeled as a “phony.” Beshear stated, “JD Vance calls pregnancy resulting from rape ‘inconvenient.’ Inconvenience is traffic. Make him go through this.”
Beshear further asserted that Republicans lack empathy concerning their abortion policies. Vance quickly responded to Beshear’s statements on X, formerly known as Twitter, accusing the governor of insinuating that he wished harm upon a member of Vance’s family. “What a disgusting person,” Vance tweeted.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Beshear clarified that he did not intend to suggest anyone in Vance’s family should be harmed, branding Vance’s reaction as “ridiculous” and a diversion from the real issue. “Obviously, I don’t wish anybody harm, nor would I ever, but what this is about is JD Vance is trying to make himself the victim,” Beshear explained.
The discussion appears to link back to comments made by Vance in September 2021, where he was asked if anti-abortion laws should incorporate exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Vance had remarked that it was not a matter of forcing a woman to carry a child but of allowing a child to live, despite the circumstances that led to the child’s conception being perceived as inconvenient. He has since asserted that he did not equate rape with inconvenience.
Vance has also articulated that abortion policies should largely fall under state jurisdiction, while advocating for some minimal national standards. Additionally, he has stated that a future Trump administration would not support a ban by the Federal Drug Administration on mifepristone, an abortion medication, as proposed in Project 2025, a conservative policy initiative backed by The Heritage Foundation.