Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who identifies as “unapologetically pro-life,” said on Thursday that “the fellas” have been “demonizing” the issue of abortion for “too long.”
“We have to humanize this issue,” former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Haley said at the Rotary Club luncheon at the Portsmouth Country Club in New Hampshire. “I am not going to be part of demonizing this issue; it’s too personal to everyone. And the fellas have done that for too long. No offense.”
“But it is time that we start treating it like the sensitive topic that it is,” she continued. “I had a roommate who was raped in college. I wouldn’t wish anything — I wouldn’t wish that on anyone to see what she went through, wondering if she was pregnant. Everybody’s got a story. And every person’s story needs to be respected.”
Haley added that while she is pro-life because her husband is adopted and she had trouble having both of her children, the issue of abortion is “personal for every woman and every man.”
“So I don’t judge anyone for being pro-choice any more than I want you to judge me for being pro-life,” she said.
When asked whether she would support a federal abortion restriction, Haley said she believes there is a federal role in protecting the unborn but ultimately thinks passing a national limit is unrealistic and unachievable.
“So the question that you’re seeing debated right now is, ‘Is there a place for a federal law?’ And I think that there is. But to have a federal law, they need to tell you the truth, and I don’t think anyone has told the American people the truth,” she said, noting that passing such a law would require a supermajority of 60 U.S. senators.
“We haven’t had 60 Republican senators in over 100 years. We might have 45 pro-life senators. So no Republican president can ban abortion any more than a Democrat president can ban these state laws,” she said.
RELATED: Here’s Where Republican Presidential Candidates Stand on Abortion
Instead, Haley said lawmakers and Americans, overall, should focus on finding “consensus” around the issue of abortion.
“Can’t we agree that we don’t want late-term abortions? Can’t we agree that we should encourage adoptions and better quality adoptions? Can’t we agree that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortion shouldn’t have to perform them?” she said. “Can’t we agree that contraception should be accessible? And can’t we agree that no state law should say that any woman who’s had an abortion can go to jail or get the death penalty? Let’s just start there.”
WATCH: Nikki Haley Calls for “Consensus” on Abortion
C-SPANHaley concluded by saying she plans to focus on the question, “How do we save as many babies as we can and support as many moms as we can?”
“And that’s the conversation I choose to have when it comes to pro-life and abortion,” she said.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
