In a major speech Tuesday before one of the nation’s most prominent pro-life groups, former South Carolina governor and Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley said Americans must find consensus on abortion law.
Haley didn’t offer specifics on precisely what “consensus” means to her in terms of policy, although she did say the federal government has a role to play in the post-Roe v. Wade world of life, liberty and abortion.
“Abortion is a deeply personal topic for both women and men. I understand why. Someone’s body and someone else’s life are not things to be taken lightly, and they should not be politicized. The issue should be addressed with sensitivity and respect, not judgment and hate,” she said during the speech at the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America headquarters in Arlington, VA.
Haley, among a crowded field of declared and presumptive contestants for the GOP presidential nomination, laid out her pro-life bonafides. As the first woman governor of South Carolina, Haley ticked off a list of pro-life bills she signed into law — from a measure requiring health care professionals to save the lives of babies born during botched abortions to a 20-week abortion ban, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
“My record on abortion is long and clear,” she said. “I believe every life is a blessing from God. My heart hurts when someone decides not to go through with a pregnancy.”
Haley was preaching to the choir, before an organization that “exists to end abortion and the destruction of unborn human life” — an organization that rejoiced in last June’s Supreme Court ruling reversing the nearly 50-year-old decision that had federally protected abortions.
SBA Pro-Life America on Tuesday celebrated North Dakota’s law protecting unborn life going into effect, applauding Republican Governor Doug Burgum and “pro-life legislators for enacting the will of the people in protecting babies with beating hearts who can feel the pain of abortion.” The law bans abortions starting at six weeks. North Dakota became the 15th state to put into effect such a law.
The organization said it was thankful that Haley shared her “vision for a pro-life American in this new moment when the people finally have a say in the debate. She understands that the topic of abortion is not going away and that you must lean in, not lean back.”
“The American people deserve a compassionate debate centered around the humanity of both mother & child,” SBA Pro-Life America said in a tweet. “She promised to not demonize either side of this issue but to approach it with the careful consideration that is needed. States have every right & should protect life.”
But Haley also didn’t offer specifics on what a “national consensus” might look like or what the federal government’s role would be on a fundamental issue in which the Supreme Court gave deference to the states.
She did say her goal as president would be the same as when she was governor and Ambassador to the United Nations under former President Donald Trump: to “save as many lives and help as many moms as possible.”
But is that to suggest the candidate wouldn’t stand for states such as Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama that have banned all abortions with no exceptions? Her home state is one vote away from a near-total abortion ban.
South Carolina’s current bill, H.3744, prohibits all abortions with exceptions for rape, incest and fatal fetal anomaly, according to the Greenville News. Physicians and other health care providers who violate the ban would be fined $10,000 or get imprisoned for up to two years, or both.
Haley said common ground already exists. She said there’s broad public agreement that “babies born during a failed abortion deserve to live.” That mothers should not be pressured into having an abortion. That society must “do better when it comes to adoption,” and that pro-life doctors and nurses “should never be forced to violate their beliefs.”
“Surely, we can all agree that abortion up until the time of birth is a bridge too far,” Haley said. “We should be able to agree that contraception should be more available, not less. And we can all agree that women who get abortions should not be jailed.”
But there’s a lot of disagreement out there on abortion, beginning with the terms the left uses — reproductive rights, health care, choice — to cover up what the act is: Ending a life. And some believe women, or “birthing people,” are guaranteed a right to end an unborn baby’s life up to and even through birth.
On Tuesday, as Haley was delivering her speech, President Joe Biden was announcing a re-election campaign with abortion on demand as a battle cry and a principle plank of the Democratic Party’s platform.
What does “consensus” look like to a party that Republican critics say has so devalued life?
“Now that power has been restored to the people, let us treat it as the important and deeply personal issue it is,” Haley said. “Let’s discuss it in ways that allow Americans to show love for one another, not judgment or contempt. And let’s find a consensus that allows us to save as many babies as we can while supporting women in difficult situations.”
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Nikki Haley” by Nikki Haley.
