Mike Pence and Donald Trump. Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced this morning that Indiana governor Mike Pence will be his running mate. Let’s look at Pence’s record on women’s health, shall we?

1. As a representative for Indiana in 2011, Pence authored the first bill to block federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood.

2. He apparently thinks that the Hyde Amendment — which blocks the use of federal funds to pay for abortions except in the case of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother — isn’t strict enough. That same year, he co-sponsored a bill that would have only permitted federal funds to be used if the rape was “forcible.” Thankfully, it did not pass.

3. As governor, he signed a bill written specifically to shut down a Planned Parenthood clinic that only provided medication abortions, not surgical ones. The bill, SB 371, required clinics that offered medication abortions to meet the same facility standards as ones that offered surgical procedures. Planned Parenthood sued and after a legal battle lasting more than a year, a judge ruled that Indiana was prohibited from enforcing the law.

4. He also signed a 2014 law that banned private insurance coverage of abortion unless the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest or threatens the life of the mother. There are no exceptions for fetal anomalies.

5. Finally, in March, Pence signed a bill that would ban abortions on the basis of race, sex, or genetic anomalies and all women seeking an abortion would be required to have an ultrasound 18 hours before the procedure. The bill also required that all fetal remains from abortions or even miscarriages be buried or cremated. This asshat-ery led to the Periods for Pence campaign where women called Pence’s office to detail their menstrual goings-on since they might technically be having a miscarriage and they didn’t want to break the law. A federal judge blocked the provision banning certain kinds of abortions, and Planned Parenthood is also suing in a joint filing with the ACLU.



Your esteemed Republican vice-presidential candidate, everyone!