GOP Rep. Don Bacon lies to voters about his longtime support for abortion bans
During their first debate, the Nebraska U.S. representative also falsely claimed that his election challenger, Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas, supports abortion on demand until birth.

Nebraska Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon misled voters about his record of opposition to reproductive rights during his first 2024 campaign debate against his challenger, Democratic nominee state Sen. Tony Vargas. Bacon also falsely claimed that Vargas, who backs abortion rights until the point when a fetus could viably survive outside the uterus, supports “abortion on demand up until birth.”
Bacon and Vargas will face each other in November in a rematch of the 2022 race for the seat in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, in which Bacon prevailed 51.3%-48.7%. At the Oct. 4 debate, the candidates were asked about two statewide measures set to appear on the ballot: the Protect Our Rights ballot initiative (Measure 439) to amend the Nebraska Constitution to guarantee legal abortion until fetal viability, and the Protect Women and Children initiative (Measure 434) to add the state’s current 12-week abortion ban to the state constitution.
Vargas noted his support for the Protect Our Rights measure and Bacon’s past support for a nationwide abortion ban: “I’ll be supporting the measure that actually listens to women and protects their freedoms, and not the one that further is trying to restrict them and tell them what they can and cannot do. And I think my record in the Legislature of actually voting on behalf of women’s freedoms is important. But I also think it matters when we have members of Congress, and it does frustrate me when individuals are the original co-sponsor of a full abortion ban in the Constitution. That’s what Congressman Don Bacon did. He didn’t just do it once. He didn’t just do it twice. He co-sponsored it three different times. And in co-sponsoring it, there are no exceptions for the life of the mother or for rape or incest for this legislation. There’s no carve-outs for IVF.”
Bacon has repeatedly co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, a bill that would have granted full constitutional protections to fetuses and embryos, effectively banning all abortions nationwide without any exceptions and failing to protect in vitro fertilization.
Bacon responded by noting his support for the 12-week ban and lying about the impact of the Life at Conception Act.
“As with most Christians, I believe that God has created us. We’re created in God’s image. We have a soul. And God has called us to protect the most innocent and unprotected amongst us. I’m going to support the Nebraska law. It has reasonable restrictions and it has exceptions for rape and incest, health of the mother. And it goes against what Tony just said. I’m going to support the law with these exceptions. And he knows better that the bill he’s talking about, by the way, never mentions abortion, never mentions IVF. It is just — it’s demagoguery.”
Bacon then repeated the same lie that former President Donald Trump has repeatedly used against Democrats who support abortion rights, falsely claiming that Vargas backs abortion until the moment of birth.
“He’s been asked for years what restrictions would he like. There’s only seven countries in the world out of 200 that have abortion on demand until birth. That’s where this man stands,” Bacon claimed. “The inhumanity of it, of an 8- or 9-month unborn child that is viable with a healthy mom. But that’s where he stands.”
Vargas replied, “I do not support abortion on demand, and I have said that many times in the past.”
The proposal Vargas supports would keep Nebraska’s restrictions on abortion after fetal viability, generally considered to be around 24 weeks’ gestation, except in cases when abortion is “needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.”
Bacon has opposed legislation to restore the abortion rights previously guaranteed to all Americans under Roe v. Wade and touts endorsements from anti-abortion groups, including Nebraska Right to Life. In response to the group’s 2024 candidate survey, Bacon said that abortion should be legal only “to prevent the death of the mother.”
On his campaign website, Vargas says, “In Congress, I’ll vote to codify the protections earned from the Roe v. Wade decision into federal law to preserve the ability of Nebraska women to make the reproductive health decisions that work best for them.”