J.D. Vance’s Horrifying Abortion Proposal Resurfaces

U.S. Senate candidate, Hillbilly Elegy author and violent marriage apologist J.D. Vance can’t seem to make up his mind about what his messaging on abortion should be, beyond the kind of racist, misogynistic word-salad of most GOP-backed candidates eagerly suckling at the Trump teat just enthusiastically enough to be elected.

As the race for U.S. Senate tightens between Vance and Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, and just days after Sen. Lindsey Graham proposed a 15-week federal ban on abortion, yet another disturbing quote from Vance has been dredged up—this time, on a future wherein abortion is all but criminalized nationwide.

“Let’s say Roe v. Wade is overruled,” Vance said in January. (Roe was overturned in late June.) “Ohio bans abortion in 2022—let’s say 2024. Then every day, George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women to get them to go have abortions in California. Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory for diversity…If that happens, do you need some federal response to prevent it from happening because it’s really creepy? I’m pretty sympathetic to that, actually. Hopefully we get to a point where Ohio bans abortion and California and the Soroses of the world respect it.”

There are a few things—apart from the glaringly obvious racism and anti-semitism—that are suspect about this. First and foremost, the “Soroses of the world” haven’t done all that much to provide abortion access or care since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June. And though Vance is right about one thing—there are certainly enough people (Black and otherwise) in the state seeking abortion care to fill a 747—nothing about relying on the absurdly wealthy to bankroll said care, all the while expediting climate change just to access it, feels like a victory. Finally, the comment has resurfaced at a time when Vance has remained strangely mum on the topic of abortion—even after a judge just temporarily blocked a state ban on most abortions.

The quote was included in a Columbus Dispatch article about Ryan’s response to Graham’s proposed abortion ban, and Twitter ran with it. One would think that it would be the ideal moment for Vance to take the baton from Graham (he’s set to headline an event with the South Carolina senator next month) and double down on his usual drivel. For example: In September 2021, he infamously argued against a need for exceptions for rape and incest. By February 2022, he issued a full-throated proclamation of support for criminalizing abortion nationwide during a podcast interview.

According to recent polls, Vance and Ryan are tied. I shudder to think what further hellish statements will come out of Vance’s mouth before November.