Opinion: This Is What Vance Really Meant When He Spoke About Friend’s Abortion
GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance really wanted America to know that he has friends who have had abortions.
Still, before Vance launched into the story of his “dear” friend, he should have signaled to the audience that she’d consented to it being told on national TV. Without that assurance, it sounded like Vance was busting a friend for receiving life-saving health care, which she may or may not have wanted him to do.
The story was meant to induce sympathy. Vance told the audience that his friend “felt like if she hadn't had that abortion, that it would have destroyed her life because she was in an abusive relationship.” Then Vance looked directly into the camera and said, “I know she’s watching tonight, and I love you.”