RFK Jr. confirmation hearing: Kennedy was grilled on his abortion flip-flop. Here’s what he said

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced pushback on his views on abortion (and other issues) during his confirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Wednesday with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

Since his nomination, President Donald Trump’s highly controversial pick to head the nation’s top health post has elicited wide-ranging criticism for his radical views on a whole host of health issues, from vaccines and the U.S. healthcare system to our nation’s food supply. As Fast Company previously reported, Kennedy has been accused of making numerous false and misleading scientific claims, including those relating to autism to raw milk. If confirmed, he would oversee the agencies regulating many of these important health issues.

Democrats, including Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, pressed the nominee hard on his past support for abortion access and recent flip-flop against a woman’s right to choose. It remains unclear whether Kennedy has the votes, particularly from Democrats, to clinch the confirmation.

Sanders quoted RFK Jr.’s own 2023 support for women’s autonomy over their bodies, adding, “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.”

Kennedy replied, “Senator, I believe and I’ve always believed that every abortion is a tragedy.” He refused to answer Sanders’ question on whether healthcare is a human right.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, also asked RFK Jr. if pregnant women whose lives were in danger should be allowed to have emergency abortions in states where it is banned. His response was, “I don’t know.”

RFK Jr. ran against Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate and endorsed Trump after dropping out of the race. The son of former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, he is a member of the prominent Kennedy family, longtime Democrats, who have been quick to say he is unfit for office.

His cousin, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy (JFK), went one step further, writing a letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, urging the Senate to reject his nomination, referring to RFK Jr. as a “predator” and arguing that “siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness and death.”

She read the letter in a video posted on X by her son, Jack Schlossberg, a popular social media political commentator who has also strongly denounced the nomination.