A day after receiving backlash over a comment that he supported abortion at full term, Mr. Kennedy said he changed his stance after listening to advisers.
An early campaign promise Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made when he was still running in the Democrat primary last year has seen a stern test in recent weeks amid his comment that he supported abortion up to full term.
Mr. Kennedy told The Epoch Times last August that he preferred to have advisers and team members who don’t fully share his views and, as a candidate and president, he would listen to differing opinions and even change his mind if presented with a convincing argument.
In May, a podcast interview with Sage Steele created a firestorm where Mr. Kennedy received a widespread backlash.
He said that women should be able to terminate their pregnancy “even if it’s full term.”
The comment drew criticism from pro-life groups and multiple people within his campaign.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement that Mr. Kennedy “has exposed himself as a true extremist” who “is no different from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris when it comes to supporting brutal abortions at any time for no reason, even when babies in the womb feel pain, with zero limits or exceptions.”
Angela Stanton King, a pro-life advocate and an adviser to Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, has contributed insight on black voter outreach, and criminal justice and abortion policies.
She denounced the candidate’s view on backing full-term abortion on social media.
Nicole Shanahan, Mr. Kennedy’s running mate, sat down for a talk with Ms. Steele that was released a week before Mr. Kennedy’s interview aired.
Ms. Shanahan said that she was unaware that the candidate did not support limits on abortion.
“My understanding with Bobby’s position is that, you know, every abortion is a tragedy, is a loss of life,” Ms. Shanahan said, adding that she thought that he believed in limits on abortion and, perhaps, there was a miscommunication in his interview.
A day after the interview with Sage Steele aired, Mr. Kennedy reiterated his early campaign promise that he would “always be willing to listen to people and change my position.”
“I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point.
“I believe that point should be when the baby is viable outside the womb.
“Therefore, I would allow appropriate restrictions on abortion in the final months of pregnancy, just as Roe v. Wade did,” he wrote on X.
