Mike Pence Calling For A Condom Ban Because They Would Lead To Abortions Is Fake News

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Vice President Mike Pence calling for a condom ban because he said that their use leads to abortions. There is no truth to a fake news article alleging that Pence called for a condom ban.

Where did this fake news originate? The Newslo reported on Aug. 16, 2016, that Pence had once called for a ban on condoms, maintaining their use “leads to abortions.” You can read the fake story below.

The Patheos blog recently published an item titled “Mike Pence: Condoms Are Too Modern” reporting that the Indiana governor and Republican vice presidential nominee had dismissed the prophylactic devices as “too modern and too liberal”: “Donald Trump’s running mate is a dangerous Christian extremist who wants creationism taught in public schools and believes the government should pay for gay conversion therapy. In addition, in 2015, as Governor of Indiana, Pence allowed an HIV outbreak to spread, choosing prayer over a clean needle exchange. But perhaps one of the most idiotic claims made by Pence is that condoms are too “modern,” too “liberal,” and offer a poor defense against sexually transmitted infections and diseases,” the item reads.

Asking him to comment on his alleged statement, Pence was interviewed by The Huffington Post … Pence (then a Congressman) actually made in this regard stemmed from a February 2002 CNN panel discussion about abstinence education. Anchor Wolf Blitzer opened the segment by explaining a current controversy over remarks made by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had just appeared on MTV and was asked about the Pope’s stance on condom usage by Catholics. “You know, the thing that got me riled up back then, and even does right now,” Pence recalled, “is the fact that Christian youth gets so easily accustomed to using condoms at a very young age. And you know, statistics show, even the manufacturers agree, that they’re just not 100% safe, they’re something like 97 or 98%. That’s not what we want for our kids, is it?”

“I mean, at the end of the day, what condoms actually do is they give our kids a false sense of security, they’re actually tricking them into thinking they’re having safe sex, when in fact, very often, those intercourses result in unwanted teen pregnancies. And the reason why that’s happening is because condoms are designed to be hip, to be modern, to be practical and what not, and the truth is that that’s a lie. The only way to stay safe from premature pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases is to practice abstinence and pray to God, that’s the only real way to stay safe,” Pence argued. “At the end of the day, it’s the unjustified trust in condoms that plays a huge part in abortion rates going through the roof … If you want to risk ruining your life before it’s even started, go ahead, gamble with condoms. But I say we need to ban them and make the right decision for those who clearly aren’t capable of making it themselves. What we don’t need are condoms that are unsafe; what we DO need are smarter kids, apparently,” he concluded.

However, there is no truth to the above story according to Snopes. Rather, the above story took advantage of a genuine controversy pertaining to remarks once made by Pence about condoms back in 2002 during the course of a CNN panel discussion. For stories published by Newslo, there is an element of fact that is then surrounded by false statements.

What did you think about the fake news about Pence’s claim that condoms lead to abortions? Did you believe it or see people sharing it falsely on social media? Let us know in the comments section.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr

Source: B2C