Presidential contender Nikki Haley called for a “national consensus” on abortion and urged her party to acknowledge the limits of federal action on the issue, which has vexed fellow Republicans eager to win over women and swing-state voters.
(Bloomberg) — Presidential contender Nikki Haley called for a “national consensus” on abortion and urged her party to acknowledge the limits of federal action on the issue, which has vexed fellow Republicans eager to win over women and swing-state voters.
“We have to face this reality. The pro-life laws that have passed in strongly Republican states will not be approved at the federal level,” she said Tuesday at the headquarters of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a major anti-abortion group, in Arlington, Virginia. “I do believe there is a federal role on abortion. Whether we can save more lives nationally depends entirely on doing what no one else has done today. And that is to find consensus.”
Haley’s address lacked policy specifics, but sought to differentiate her from other 2024 GOP candidates, calling abortion a “deeply personal issue” that should be discussed without “judgment or contempt.” At the same time, she touted her anti-abortion record, vowing that as president her goal would be “to save as many lives” as possible.
The address marked an effort to get ahead of an issue that has been blamed for Republicans’ poor showing in last year’s congressional and gubernatorial elections, creating divisions within the party while uniting Democrats.
Some Republican leaders want the party to go on the offensive, defending abortion bans and painting Democrats as extremists for supporting late-term and taxpayer-funded abortions. But others warn the GOP is putting itself on a path to defeat in 2024 by defending strict anti-abortion measures. They include the six-week ban Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to enter the race, signed into law and efforts to block access to the abortion drug mifepristone.
Divisions in the GOP are also emerging about whether to pursue a national abortion ban or leave the issue to each state after the US Supreme Court overturned nationwide abortion protections.
Former President Donald Trump drew a rebuke last week from the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America after his campaign said restrictions should be decided at the state level. He has blamed the party’s disappointing election results on GOP candidates not allowing exceptions to abortion.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who’s considering a White House bid, has also said his former boss was wrong. Speaking to reporters at an Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s event, Pence said “returning the question of life to the states and American people did not mean that it’s a state’s-only issue.”
Other rivals for the Republican nomination have courted the 70% of Republican voters who describe themselves as pro-life but have largely not been publicly campaigning on the issue.
DeSantis, who hasn’t yet announced his candidacy but has been visiting early primary states, signed the Florida law banning abortion after six weeks late at night in a private ceremony, and he rarely mentions abortion in his speeches.
US Senator Tim Scott, who is exploring a run, was initially reluctant to say if he would back a federal standard, before endorsing a 20-week abortion ban. Scott has also said he would sign a bill from fellow South Carolinian Lindsey Graham for a 15-week ban.
Earlier: Abortion Pill Battle Threatens to Further Box In GOP
Haley, the only woman seriously contending for the Republican nomination, has consistently espoused anti-abortion positions in her time as a state lawmaker, South Carolina governor and as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Haley signed at least three anti-abortion bills as governor: A bill affording legal protection to infants born after a failed abortion attempt, a bill prohibiting government-subsidized insurance plans from covering abortion and, in 2016, a 20-week ban with no exceptions for rape.
But she’s tried to stake out a conciliatory stance on the campaign trail.
“We can all agree that women who get abortions should not be jailed. A few have even called for the death penalty. That’s the least pro-life position I can possibly imagine,” Haley said Tuesday.
(Updates with details on Scott’s position on abortion in 11th paragraph)
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