Nikki Haley says she will not ‘demonize’ issue of abortion as president

Republican 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley stated Sunday that she refuses to “demonize” the issue of abortion as part of her campaign for president, contrasting herself from other Republicans in the primary race.

Haley was asked about opinion pieces claiming she tries to win the support of both anti-abortion and pro-abortion rights voters, as well as a statement she made that “the numbers simply are not there” regarding a potential 15-week federal abortion ban. When asked if she would support a federal ban if she “had the numbers,” Haley said she would and that she has said she would “many times.”

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“I believe what I believe, and I say what I say,” Haley told Fox News Sunday. “I have been a realist. In order to pass that bill, you have to have 60 Senate votes. We might have 45 pro-life senators. I refuse to demonize the issue of abortion. I refuse to have people divided on it.”

Haley added that she has received support from voters on both sides of the aisle, along with independent voters, because she is “apologetically pro-life” while not judging people who are pro-abortion rights. She also stated that she thought it was right that the decision to ban abortion be given to each state, referring to the Supreme Court’s overturning Roe v. Wade last year.

“But if you’re going to talk about a federal law, let’s be realistic,” Haley said. “That is what I am, I’m a realist. Let’s be realistic. Don’t go and divide people on something that doesn’t look possible.”

Haley’s comments come as several of her opponents in the 2024 Republican primary have voiced their support for a 15-week federal abortion ban, including Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). Last month, Scott released an ad that subtly took aim at his opponents who have retreated from embracing abortion restriction laws.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former Vice President Mike Pence, both of whom are running in the primary, have also supported a potential 15-week ban.

Former President Donald Trump, the lead candidate in the 2024 Republican primary, received harsh criticism from the anti-abortion community over his refusal to support a federal abortion ban. Trump claimed that the issue of abortion cost Republicans “dearly” in the 2022 midterm elections and stressed the importance of the issue being “returned to the states.”