Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said Tuesday in their vice presidential debate that their religion guides them on abortion — though they take opposite sides on the public issue.
While Mr. Kaine personally opposes abortion, he said he and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton think the decision regarding a pregnancy should be left up to the mother and not the government.
Mr. Pence, meanwhile, said he cannot comprehend Mrs. Clinton’s support for partial-birth abortion and that he also opposes taxpayer funding of abortion.
“It all for me begins with cherishing the dignity, the worth, the value or every human life,” Mr. Pence said.
Mr. Pence’s pro-life credentials have helped Mr. Trump win over voters who have questioned his flip-flops on the issue through the years.
Mr. Kaine, though, warned that Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence want to do away with the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.
“Before Roe v. Wade, states could punish women if they made the choice to abort a pregnancy,” Mr. Kaine said. “I think you should live your moral values, but the last thing governments should do is to have laws that would punish women who make reproductive choices.”
“That is the fundamental difference between the Clinton-Kaine ticket and the Trump-Pence ticket,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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