Marco Rubio
As Secretary of State, Rubio will serve as the President's chief foreign affairs advisor, and will be responsible for carrying out the President's foreign policy agenda through the Department. Notably, the Secretary of State oversees funding for international health programs and is directly linked to the interpretation and implementation of the Global Gag Rule and other reproductive rights global norms and standards.
Top Red Flags
- Sponsored and co-sponsored numerous pieces of anti-abortion legislation, receiving an A+ rating from the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro Life America.
- Co-sponsored a national abortion ban in Congress.
- Stated he believes life begins at conception, and said that IVF poses a “very difficult bioethical issue.”
Litigation
Rubio was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2011. In this role, he joined various amicus briefs supporting litigation efforts to restrict access to abortion care, including the below.
- Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA: encouraging the Supreme Court to reinstate restrictions on medication abortion and that the “FDA’s lawless deregulation of mifepristone subverts patient safeguards and contravenes federal laws.”
- Moyle v. United States: arguing that the “Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”) […] does not authorize elective induced abortion” and that the Biden Administration’s “EMTALA abortion mandate […] contravenes Congress’ pro-life policy stance.”
- Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: urging the Supreme Court to overturn the constitutional right to abortion cemented in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and to “affirm the constitutional authority of the federal and state governments to safeguard the lives and health of their citizens, born and not yet born.”
Legislation
Rubio sponsored nearly two dozen anti-abortion and anti-reproductive rights bills in the 118th Congress, including the selection below.
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2023 (S62)
- Prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
- Prohibits health plans that receive federal subsidies from covering abortions, unless the abortion falls under the exceptions.
- Requires disclosure of any abortion coverage and related surcharges in health plans offered through the Affordable Care Act.
SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2023 (Support And Value Expectant Moms and Babies Act of 2023) (S95)
- Prohibits the approval of new abortion drugs, bans investigational use exemptions for abortion drugs, and imposes additional regulatory requirements on previously approved abortion drugs.
- Requires in-person administration of medication abortion by certified health care practitioners and mandates reporting of adverse events.
- Allows federal or state governments to impose “further requirements on abortion drugs, beyond what is specified in the bill.”
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S204)
- Implements vague requirements as to how abortion providers are to perform their jobs—mandating that they “provide the same degree of care to an infant born alive after an abortion or attempted abortion as they would to any other newborn”—coupled with criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for failing to comply.
- The real purpose of the bill is clear: to shame and scare both providers and patients seeking safe, quality abortion care.
Woman’s Right To Know Act (S3609)
- Requires abortion providers to obtain a signed Informed Consent Authorization form from the person seeking an abortion. This form must be presented in person at least 24 hours prior to the abortion and must include details on the gestational age of the fetus, the medical risks of the procedure, and the major developmental characteristics of the fetus.
- The bill imposes civil penalties on abortion providers for failure to comply with these requirements, and allows patients or their parents to file civil lawsuits against providers who violate the law.
Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance Act (S3624)
- Aims to restrict the availability of federal funds to organizations associated with abortion, both domestically and internationally.
- Prohibits federal funds from being provided to any foreign or domestic nonprofit, nongovernmental, or quasi-governmental organization that performs or promotes abortions, provides abortion-related services or supplies, or financially supports entities that engage in such activities.
- Requires a complete physical and financial separation between any federally-funded programs and abortion-related activities.
Statements
- In a 2024 interview with Eyewitness News, Rubio stated explicitly that he would not vote for a Florida ballot measure that would protect reproductive rights.
- In a 2024 NPR interview addressing where IVF fits into the anti-abortion agenda, Rubio said “[t]he ethical dilemma that this [IVF] poses is, in order to create life, you have to destroy life because you’ll create embryos that are not going to be used. And it’s a very difficult bioethical issue, and it’s one that the practitioners themselves confront. That’s what makes it complex. . . . And it’s a balancing act that as a society we’re going to have to make.”
- In a 2022 interview with CBS Miami, Rubio said “I am in favor of laws that protect human life. I do not believe that the dignity and the worth of human life is tied to the circumstances of their conception.”
- “[P]roud to support the thousands who #MarchforLife today under the simple truth that all human life is sacred.” From X.
- “For me, the issue of abortion and life is not a political issue. It’s a human rights issue.” From X.
Publications
- A Winning Pro-Life Strategy, memorandum discussing policy agenda for “Pro-life Americans” amid “support for abortion . . . back near record highs,” encouraging Republicans to “speak up for the defenseless by advocating commonsense limits of this gruesome practice.”
- Statement on his co-sponsorship of the Pregnant Student Rights Act, “Pregnant college students should never feel like abortion is their only option. This bill would empower more women to choose life by ensuring they are aware of all the resources available to them and their babies while pursuing their education. Every life is precious, and college campuses should never make young women feel marginalized for choosing life.”
- Used false and inflammatory rhetoric about abortion in an op-ed in The Washington Times, writing “[p]ro-life Americans are excited the Supreme Court may be on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade, and justifiably so. Over the last five decades, 63 million babies were never given a chance to pursue the American Dream. The murder of the unborn is a national tragedy, and I will never shy away from defending their right to life.”
Extremist Connections
Rubio has donated nearly $40,000 to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion non-profit organization, which seeks to “end abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.”