--- title: RFK Jr. Says He'll Follow Trump's Lead on Abortion description: RFK Jr.'s stance on abortion has put him at odds with the conservative Trump Administration. But his views are changing. canonical: https://time.com/7210724/rfk-jr-abortion-position-senate-confirmation-hearing/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-01-29T20:33:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T18:24:13.000Z article:section: Health og:title: RFK Jr. Says He'll Follow Trump's Lead on Abortion og:description: RFK Jr.'s stance on abortion has put him at odds with the conservative Trump Administration. But his views are changing. og:url: https://time.com/7210724/rfk-jr-abortion-position-senate-confirmation-hearing/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17f77d6d60c9e9aa/6998b2ce9fbc7c4c9fd97dc5/rfk.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Senate Holds Confirmation Hearings For HHS Secretary Nominee Robert Kennedy og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: RFK Jr. Says He'll Follow Trump's Lead on Abortion twitter:description: RFK Jr.'s stance on abortion has put him at odds with the conservative Trump Administration. But his views are changing. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17f77d6d60c9e9aa/6998b2ce9fbc7c4c9fd97dc5/rfk.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # RFK Jr. Says He'll Follow Trump's Lead on Abortion > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=27b1ed01-d27c-44a3-a3b6-ec81eac48cf3&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: RFK Jr. Grilled on Vaccines in Contentious Senate Hearing [Watch (HLS stream): RFK Jr. Grilled on Vaccines in Contentious Senate Hearing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2fqRpYmV.m3u8) (8:33)  _Published 2025-01-29. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by Senators in his first confirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday, during which he struggled to convince lawmakers that he is not “anti-vaccine” and appeared unfamiliar with key aspects of healthcare insurance programs and other policies he would oversee._  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Updated: Jan 19, 2026 6:24 PM UTCPublished: Jan 29, 2025 8:33 PM UTC Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by Senators in his first confirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday, during which he struggled to convince lawmakers that he is not “anti-vaccine” and appeared unfamiliar with key aspects of healthcare insurance programs and other policies he would oversee.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Updated: Jan 19, 2026 6:24 PM UTCPublished: Jan 29, 2025 8:33 PM UTC Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has been tough to tie down to one stance on abortion. For most of his career, he has supported it—in stark contrast to the views of many prominent figures in the current Administration. But in a Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 29, Kennedy clarified his position on abortion. “I serve at the pleasure of the President," he said in response to a question about his abortion beliefs. "I’m going to implement his policies.” The following day, Kennedy further cemented his new position when asked if he was hiring people who are pro-life for his department. "Yes, I am," he said. Here's what to know about Kennedy's past and current stance on abortion. ## What Kennedy has said in the past about abortion Kennedy, a former Democrat, has long advocated for women's reproductive rights and supported a woman's right to choose whether or not she gets an abortion. As a presidential candidate [in May 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovu7Hu1oEiQ), Kennedy described every abortion as a “tragedy” but said the decision should be left up to women, going as far as to say this freedom to choose should extend to full-term pregnancies. Shortly after, in a long [post on X](https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1789121919951704481), he clarified his statement but essentially continued to back abortion. “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." **Read More**: [_RFK Jr. Denied He Is Anti-Vaccine During His Confirmation Hearing. Here’s His Record_](https://time.com/7210943/rfk-confirmation-hearing-vaccines/) In a [video](https://www.facebook.com/rfkjr/videos/2747714242055909/) he posted to Facebook in June, he further explained that his stance on late-term abortion, in particular, had evolved. He initially believed that the only reason a woman would get an abortion in the third trimester is if the pregnancy put her life at risk or the baby had a fatal condition. “I don’t think a bureaucrat or a judge is better equipped than the baby’s own mother to decide what to do in those circumstances,” he said. "I had been assuming that virtually all late-term abortions were such cases, but I’ve learned that my assumption was wrong," he wrote on X. "Sometimes, women abort healthy, viable late-term fetuses. These cases of purely 'elective' late-term abortion are very upsetting. Once the baby is viable outside the womb, it should have rights and it deserves society’s protection." ## His position on abortion now At the Jan. 29 confirmation hearing, Kennedy stuck to a different refrain: "I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy," he said several times. “I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if there are 1.2 million abortions a year," he also said. "I agree with him that states should control abortion.” The statements reflect Kennedy's changing position as he attempts to appease Trump's conservative anti-abortion supporters. **Read More**: [_The Origins of the Anti-Vaccination Movement_](https://time.com/7205900/anti-vaccination-movement-history/) Numerous Democratic senators pointed out his past pro-choice position in the hearing. "I have never seen any major politician flip on that issue quite as quickly as you did when Trump asked you to become HHS Secretary," said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, asked if a pregnant woman with a life-threatening bleed should be able to get an emergency abortion even if her state bans them. "You would agree, also as an attorney, that federal law protects her right to that emergency care. Correct?” Kennedy responded after a long pause, “I don’t know.” ## A clash with conservatives and changing stances Kennedy's views on abortion have put him at odds with more conservative Republicans, who have successfully instituted abortion bans in 13 states. The anti-abortion agenda outlined in [Project 2025](https://static.project2025.org/2025%5FMandateForLeadership%5FFULL.pdf)—from which [President Trump has already drawn](https://time.com/7209901/donald-trump-executive-actions-project-2025/) for many of actions early in his second term—calls for an end to abortion medications, which is how most women in the U.S. get abortions. Concerned that new policies could restrict or remove that access, some providers have [reported spikes](https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/16/nx-s1-5184438/trump-women-abortion-pill-plan-b) in these requests after Trump was elected President in November. But Kennedy made it clear that on abortion medication, too, he would defer to Trump to inform his new stance. "President Trump has asked me to study the safety of mifepristone," Kennedy said during the Jan. 29 hearing—despite the fact that the medication has already been reviewed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective. "He has not yet taken a stand on how to regulate it. Whatever he does, I will implement those policies, and I will work with this committee make those policies make sense." ## Transcript Chairman, Ranking Member Wyden and members of this distinguished committee. I'm humbled to be sitting here today as President Trump's nominee to oversee the US Department of Health and Human Services. I want to thank President Trump for entrusting me to deliver on his promise to make America wealthy again. I also want to thank Cheryl and Kick and Bobby and all of my other children who are here today, and all the many members of my large extended family for the love that they have so generously shared. Ours has always been a family that has been involved in public service, and I look forward to continuing that tradition. Before I conclude, I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I'm anti vaccine or any industry. I am neither. I am pro safety. No harm. We'll have order. Please proceed, Mr. Kennedy. I am pro safety. I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish. And nobody called me any fish. And I believe that my that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated. I've read many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014, the first line of it is I am not anti-vaccine. And the last line is I am not anti-vaccine, nor am I the enemy of food producers. American farmers are the bedrock of our culture, of our politics, of our national security, Mr. Kennedy. All of these things cannot be true. So are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro pro-vaccine or did you lie on all those podcasts? He asked me, are there vaccines that are safe and effective? And I said to him, some of the live virus vaccines are. And I said, there are no vaccines that are safe and effective. And I was going to continue for every person, every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines. So he interrupted me at that point. I've corrected it many times, including on national TV. You know about this, Senator Biden. So bring this up right now is dishonest. Let's be clear about what you've actually done then, since you want to deny your statements. For example, you have a history of trying to take vaccines away from people. In May of 2021, you petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to not only block Americans from having access to the Covid vaccine, but to prevent any future access to the life saving vaccine. Are you denying that your name is on the petition. We brought that petition after the CDC recommended the Covid vaccine without any scientific basis or six year old children. Most experts agree today, even the people who did it back then at Covid, vaccines are inappropriate for six year old children who basically have a zero risk from Covid. That's why I brought that lawsuit. I don't want to I want to emphasize. The. Fact I don't. Know the facts. The fact. That the committee will be in order. The nominee wrote a book saying that people had been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease. He's trying now to play down his role in Samoa. That's not what the parents say. That's not what Governor Green says. It's time to make sure that we blow the whistle on actually what your views are. At least we're starting. We need to move on. I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking any. Anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles book you wrote saying parents have been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease. That's not true. So I'm asking you, yes or no? Mr. Kennedy, did you say that Covid 19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets black and white people, but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people? I didn't say it was deliberately targeted. I just I just quoted an NIH funded and NIH published study. Did you say that it targets black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews? You quoted a study. Your honor, I quoted an NIH study that showed that. I'll take that as a yes. I have to move on. Mr.. I have to move on. Did you say that Lyme disease is a It is highly likely a materially engineered bioweapon. I made sure I put in the highly likely. Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon? I probably did say that. Did you say that? That's what. The developer. Of. I want all of our colleagues to hear it. Mr. Kennedy, I want them to hear it. You said yes. Did you say that exposure to pesticides causes children to become transgender? No, I never said that. Okay, I have the record that I'll give to the chairman, and he can make his judgment about what you said. Did you write in your book? And I. It's undeniable that African American African Aids is an entirely different disease from Western Aids. Yes or no, Mr. Kennedy? I'm not sure if I may. Okay. I'll give it to the chairman. Mr.. Mr. Kennedy, and my final question. Did you say on a podcast, and I quote, I wouldn't leave it abortion to the States. My belief is we should leave it to the woman. We shouldn't have the government involved, even if it's full term. Did you say that, Mr. Kennedy? Senator, I believe that every abortion is a tragedy. Did you say it, Mr. Kennedy? This matters. It doesn't matter what you come here and say that isn't true. That's not reflective of what you really believe that you haven't said over a decade after decade after decade. Because unlike other jobs, we're confirming around this place, this is a job where it is life and death. For the kids that I used to work for in the Denver Public Schools and for families all over this country that are suffering from living in the richest country of the world, that can't deliver basic health care and basic mental health care to them. It's too important for the games that you're playing, Mr. Kennedy. And I hope my colleagues will say to the president, I have no influence over him. I hope my colleagues will say to the president, out of 330 million Americans, we can do better than this. Thank you. We need to move on. But you also said we need to trust the women to make that choice. Because I don't trust government to make any choices. You said that too, right? Yes. It is remarkable that you have such a long record of fighting for women's reproductive freedom. And really great that my Republican colleagues are so open to voting for a pro-choice HHS secretary. So, Mr. Kennedy, I'm confused. You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. The question is, do you stand for that value or not? When was it that you decided to sell out the values you had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump? Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy, that we can't be a moral authority in this country. Right. So but that isn't what you said back in New Hampshire in 2023. My question is, exactly when did you decide to sell out your life's work and values to get this position? Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7210724/rfk-jr-abortion-position-senate-confirmation-hearing/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7210724/rfk-jr-abortion-position-senate-confirmation-hearing/"},"headline":"RFK Jr. Says He'll Follow Trump's Lead on Abortion","datePublished":"2025-01-29T20:33:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T18:24:13.000Z","description":"RFK Jr.'s stance on abortion has put him at odds with the conservative Trump Administration. 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