GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday avoided getting into any specific policies she would support, but urged a "consensus" and tried to cast herself as the voice of reason among GOP candidates.
"No Republican president will have the ability to ban abortion nationwide," Haley said. "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."
Haley echoed calls from anti-abortion groups, as well as from the Republican National Committee, for GOP candidates to take a firmer stance on abortion.
She said she was "unapologetic" and "unhesitant" about her anti-abortion views.
Haley touted her anti-abortion voting record and noted that as governor of South Carolina she signed a law blocking women from having an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. She did not mention there were no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
But Haley took great pains to avoid endorsing a national ban.
She said she thinks the federal government needs to take a role in setting abortion policy, but would not say what that policy should be.
The venue for her speech was notable — the headquarters of the influential anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser has said her group will not support any GOP candidate who does not openly endorse a 15-week abortion ban, at minimum.
In introducing Haley, Dannenfelser commented how many elected officials "can't seem to find their voices" on abortion.
When former President Trump tried to address abortion last week, SBA blasted him, saying his "assertion that the Supreme Court returned the issue of abortion solely to the states is a completely inaccurate reading of the Dobbs decision."
No comments:
Post a Comment