Robert F Kennedy Jr, an independent presidential candidate, appears to be at odds with his running mate this week over abortion policy.
Nicole Shanahan, his pick for vice president, announced she plans to donate to a staunch abortion opponent in GOP Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. This announcement comes after the duo both said the government should not regulate abortions.
But throughout his campaign, the nephew of President John F Kennedy has outlined several policies — many of which have generated backlash from political opponents and subject-matter experts.
Here’s a breakdown of three major policy proposals from the RFK Jr-Shanahan campaign as we approach the 2024 election:
RFK Jr’s position on abortion — a keystone issue in the upcoming presidential election after the Supreme Court gave states the power to ban it in 2022 — has been somewhat hazy.
On Thursday, RFK Jr told NBC News that he believes the government should not dictate abortion policy and that reproductive rights should be decided by individual women.
“I think we have to leave it to the women rather than the state,” RFK Jr told the outlet when asked if he endorsed allowing full-term abortions.
Last year, RFK Jr told the same outlet he would want to ban abortions for women who have been pregnant for more than three months. However, NBC News said his campaign later walked back the comments, saying he doesn’t support legislation banning abortion.
On his website, RFK Jr says he will champion a “massive subsidized healthcare initiative,” which he suggests will “dramatically reduce” the number of abortions in the US.
“A lot of women, when they get pregnant, feel they can’t afford to have a baby. There isn’t a lot of support to raise a child in this society…We have to make our society as welcoming as possible to children and to motherhood,” his website reads.
By contrast, Ms Shanahan has previously said that she rejects “anyone” having control over women’s bodies while maintaining she does not “feel right” about terminating a pregnancy if both the mother and baby are healthy.
RFK Jr often touts that he wants to “end the chronic disease epidemic.”
“The current generation is the sickest in American history,” the candidate writes on his website. “When John F. Kennedy was president, 6% of American kids had a chronic health condition. Today it is 60%.”
The independent candidate vows to invest government funds in further research on chronic diseases. RFK Jr also says he will support a transition from a “toxic, degenerative industrial food system to an organic, regenerative system of agriculture.”