RFK Jr. Has No Clear Stance On 1 Of The Biggest Issues Of The 2024 Election

What does the independent candidate for president think about abortion? Even he's not sure.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate for president, can’t seem to get his position straight on abortion despite access to the procedure being one of the biggest issues of the 2024 election.

The potential spoiler candidate for either Joe Biden’s or Donald Trump’s much more viable campaigns has taken wildly different stances on the issue in recent days, even publicly conflicting with his campaign staff and running mate.

Most recently, he issued a lengthy statement last Friday evening saying “abortion should be legal up until a certain number of weeks,” until the point of fetal viability outside the womb. He said he only supports “gruesome” third-trimester abortions when needed to save the life of the mother ― even though numerous incidents since the fall of Roe v. Wade show that supposed safeguard is ineffective.

But just days earlier, Kennedy professed a wildly different stance on the issue. In an interview that aired last Wednesday on former ESPN host Sage Steele’s podcast, he said he was against any government restrictions on the procedure “even if it’s full term.” He also pushed back on Steele’s claims that patients may terminate a pregnancy late into a term “when there’s drugs involved and people aren’t thinking,” repeatedly telling her it’s important to trust women with decisions about their bodies.

Abortions performed after 21 weeks of pregnancy represent only 1% of abortions performed in the United States. The vast majority are sought out because of fetal abnormalities or threats to the mother’s health.