Abortion has been a notoriously divisive issue in America, but actually I see an emerging consensus: that abortion should be legal up until a certain number of weeks, and restricted thereafter. Even in the reddest of red states, voters reject total abortion bans. And in blue states, almost no one supports third-trimester abortions except to save the life of the mother. And so I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point. 

But I also believe that we can reduce more abortions in America by choice than by force. This is at the heart of the “More Choices, More Life” policy we’ve developed. Every abortion is a tragedy, and by better supporting mothers, parents, and families, we can dramatically reduce abortions across the board. //

I'm going to support President Trump's policies on Title 10. I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me he wants to end late-term abortion, he wants to protect conscience exemptions, and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions here and abroad as Title 10 states. I serve at the pleasure of the president, I'm going to implement his policies. //

Lankford asked, "Will you step in and say that healthcare individuals have the right of conscience again as the federal law allows?"

Kennedy responded:

The first thing that occurs to me when you ask that question is what patient would want somebody doing a surgery on them that believes the surgery is against their conscience being forced to perform that. I don't know anybody who would want a doctor to perform a surgery that the doctor is morally opposed to.

Kennedy took his argument further: that recognition of conscience exemptions is a part of the diversity of thought that the country needs to return to. //

LANKFORD: Will FDA move to be able to actually give transparency to the America people and to say, "this drug is no different than any other drug, we're not going to protect it just because it's political to some folks." People should know side effects on this drug and there should be reporting?

KENNEDY: It's against everything we believe in this country that patients or doctors should not be reporting adverse events. We need to know what adverse events are, we need to understand the safety of every drug, Mifepristone and every other drug. And President Trump has made it clear to me, one of the things, he has not taken a position yet on Mifepristone—a detailed position, but he's made it clear to me that he wants me to look at the safety issues, and I will ask NIH/FDA to do that. //

Indylawyer
6 hours ago
Those are the sorts of responses I was hoping to hear. I do not expect the federal government to eliminate abortion by legislative fiat anytime soon, and certainly not by administrative fiat. But the Democrats and RINOs have long been twisting law and policy in all sorts of hideous directions in order to promote and encourage abortion. Our abortion policy at the federal level ought to be similar to what Lincoln sought to do with slavery - recognize that it is immoral and contrary to natural law while acknowledging it that states have certain sovereign powers and we need to temporarily permit them to exercise their discretion not to protect unborn life within their borders until we can build a true national consensus that abortion has to be eliminated. RFK Jr.'s responses sound consistent with that. //

St. Joseph, Terror of Demons
7 hours ago
And so I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point.
There is no “emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point.” As a practicing Catholic, I believe all abortions are immoral, even in the incredibly rare cases of rape or incest. The child is innocent, has an immortal soul, and deserves a chance to live his or her life. Note: Some pregnancies are not viable (e.g., ectopic pregnancies), and in those sad cases, it is permissible for a doctor to terminate the pregnancy to save the mother’s life. //