Trump, Pence and other potential GOP nominees split on abortion restrictions at Iowa event

A bevy of Republican presidential hopefuls courted Iowa's religious conservatives Saturday night, pledging their opposition to abortion and transgender medical care for minors.

About 1,000 Iowa Republicans attended the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition spring kickoff event in Clive, Iowa, located outside of Des Moines.

The smell of Chick-fil-A boxed dinners filled the crowded venue as attendees waited to hear speeches from declared and potential 2024 candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence and, over a live video call, former President Donald Trump.

Candidates called for a restoration of faith in America – railing against abortion, medical care for transgender kids, schools and President Joe Biden.

The event marked the first "cattle call" of the 2024 caucus cycle – a term referring to events where all candidates are invited to speak.

Speakers who have announced official or prospective bids for 2024 included Trump, Pence, conservative radio host Larry Elder, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and businessman Perry Johnson.

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In front of religious crowd, candidates diverge on abortion

As the Republican Party struggles to find a consensus on abortion, candidates at Saturday's event were quick to praise the U.S. Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade and jockey for support among evangelical voters in Iowa.

But 2024 hopefuls continue to disagree on the next steps for abortion law. A Trump campaign spokesperson told The Washington Post last week that the former president supported abortion restrictions being made at the state level, with "exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother" –a stance that drew ire from anti-abortion groups eager to see federal restrictions on the procedure.

Trump on Saturday called himself “the most pro-life president in American history," pledging to "stand strong against the extreme late-term abortionists in the Democratic party."

Pence, who has been among the most vocal Republican opponents to abortion, said he would "certainly support any pro-life legislation that came before me" if elected. And he split with Trump on the issue, criticizing him for not being open to federal restrictions.

"I do think it's more likely that this issue is resolved at the state level," Pence told reporters. "But I don't agree with the former president, who says this is a states-only issue. We've been given a new beginning for life in this country."

Pence said federal abortion proposals, like a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, "are all ideas that ought to be part of the debate."

The former vice president also said he believed "mail-order abortions" involving medication "should be banned," a day after the Supreme Court ruled that the abortion drug mifepristone should remain widely available.

Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old entrepreneur and author, said in an interview with the Register that he believed the issue should be left to the states.

"Murder, I think abortion is murder," he said. "Murder is regulated at the state level. I think we've got to keep it there. I think there's danger where once you federalize the issue, the same shoe can fit the other foot, politically speaking, and that could put us right back in the same quagmire at the federal level."

Multiple candidates urged Republicans to reject the current framing of the abortion debate.

Pence argued that the overturning of Roe had returned the question of abortion "to the American people," and called on leaders to "advance pro-life legislation to win hearts and minds."

In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds has asked the courts to reinstate a 2018 law that would ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. She attended Supreme Court arguments in that case earlier this month.

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Rhyan Lake derided the Faith and Freedom event as showcasing Republican extremism.

“This cattle call is just the latest gathering of MAGA Republicans who’ve spent their entire careers pushing for an extreme agenda — from banning abortion to gutting Social Security to wanting to rip away affordable health care access from millions of Americans," Lake said. "Each and every 2024 Republican has doubled down on their exceedingly extreme positions that are out of step with hardworking Americans and can count on being held accountable by voters.”

Republicans denounce transgender care, accommodations

Candidates also spoke extensively about transgender issues, criticizing gender-affirming medical care for minors and questioning the validity of transgender identities altogether.

"The left-wing gender lunacy being pushed on our children is an act of child abuse and will stop immediately," Trump said, promising to sign an executive order to "cease the promotion" of gender-affirming medical care for people of all ages.

Pence lambasted the Linn-Mar school district in eastern Iowa for a policy that allowed transgender students in seventh grade or older to request accommodations without parental consent. He decried the idea that students would be punished for misgendering a transgender peer or saying that God created males and females.

Hutchinson recalled instructing schools in Arkansas not to allow transgender students to use restrooms that aligned with their gender identity.

“It is starting (in D.C.) with the Biden administration, where they’re pushing a leftist social policy in our businesses and our schools," Hutchinson said.

Major American medical groups recommend providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors. Before Republicans passed a law banning gender-affirming care for Iowa minors, Iowa doctors told lawmakers that transgender kids received medical interventions only after extensive counseling and with parental consent.

Brianne Pfannenstiel and USA Today contributed reporting.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com. 

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Abortion: Trump, Pence and other GOP hopefuls split on issue in Iowa