MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday pledged to signal a federal ban on abortion however famous that passing one can be extremely unlikely with out extra Republicans in Congress.
Although Haley didn’t say what number of weeks a federal ban ought to embody, her dedication to signing one is essentially the most particular she has been on the difficulty throughout her presidential marketing campaign. The former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations mentioned “no one has been honest” about how troublesome a ban may very well be to realize, in a carefully divided federal authorities.
“It would take a majority of the House, 60 senators and a president to sign it,” Haley mentioned at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, suggesting that even just a few GOP pickups within the 2024 elections wouldn’t make the distinction in passage. She was referring particularly to the supermajority required for main laws to clear the 100-member Senate. “We haven’t had 60 Republican senators in 100 years,” Haley mentioned.
The feedback come amid a unbroken debate over abortion restrictions among the many Republicans searching for their celebration’s presidential nomination. Sen. Tim Scott, Haley’s fellow South Carolinian who launched his bid this week, has mentioned he would signal a 15-week ban. Other candidates, like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, have mentioned the difficulty ought to keep within the states with out a Republican supermajority in Congress.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is anticipated to launch his marketing campaign later Wednesday, just lately signed a six-week ban in Florida, which former President Donald Trump subsequently implied was “too harsh.” Former Vice President Mike Pence, making ready his personal marketing campaign, has mentioned he supported Florida’s invoice and would signal such a measure as president. The six-week threshold comes earlier than many ladies notice they’re pregnant.
Asked by an attendee how she would sq. her personal opposition to abortion to “overwhelmingly pro-choice” states like New Hampshire, Haley mentioned she wouldn’t personally compromise.
“I can’t suddenly change my pro-life position because I’m campaigning in New Hampshire,” Haley mentioned. “It’s extremely private, and I’m going to deal with it with the respect it deserves.
New Hampshire was among the many least restrictive states on abortion till 2021, when it enacted a ban on the process after 24 weeks of being pregnant. This yr, lawmakers have thought-about greater than half a dozen payments on each side of the difficulty. With a carefully divided Legislature, none have handed.
In South Carolina, Haley signed an abortion ban after round 20 weeks. On Tuesday, South Carolina’s Senate handed a ban on the process after round six weeks, which the present Republican governor has mentioned he would signal. Abortion rights teams have already pledged to file authorized challenges.
“Now it’s back in the states where it belongs,” Haley mentioned Wednesday, referencing final yr’s U.S. Supreme Court determination overturning Roe v. Wade.
Haley referenced nationwide consensus in her speech final month on the headquarters of a significant anti-abortion group, which has mentioned it wouldn’t again any White House candidate who didn’t at a minimal help a 15-week federal abortion ban. During these remarks on the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America headquarters, Haley mentioned she noticed a federal position on the difficulty however stopped in need of endorsing a federal ban.
Haley on Wednesday once more referenced her name in 2015 for the removing of a Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina Statehouse as proof of her consensus-building means. She had beforehand dismissed a Democratic challenger’s name for the removing of the flag, calling it a stunt. But Haley later sought its removing after the racist killings of 9 Black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, by a white supremacist.
“It starts at the top, when you go and you govern or lead, without judgment of your people,” Haley mentioned. “But with getting them to see the best of themselves to go to a better place, that’s the key.”
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Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina.
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