More than a year after the Supreme Court handed down its Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Republican presidential candidates are communicating to voters how they would handle the issue of abortion moving forward.
Among Republicans, how the pro-life movement should proceed is a point of contention. Some view abortion as a “losing issue,” and point to GOP failures in the 2022 midterms, successful pro-abortion ballot initiatives, and the spending power of angry Democrats and the abortion lobby moving into 2024.
Democrats have already indicated they will use what they view as “anti-abortion extremism” as a way to paint their Republican opponents as out-of-step with voters, especially women.
Others, as well as national pro-life organizations, view federal legislation as the next step in a larger plan to limit abortions in the United States, and look at the reelection of pro-life governors and the passage (pre and post-Dobbs) of pro-life legislation in 25 states as evidence of progress to come.
Leading pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America has repeatedly advised Republicans to go on offense about abortion — rather than applying “the ostrich strategy” — by pointing the Democrats’ collective refusal to support any kind of limit on abortion, including late-term abortions. The organization is spearheading the push for at least a 15-week minimum federal abortion restriction, and has called on GOP presidential candidates to support such a measure as a condition of receiving its influential endorsement.
“It’s possible that we would endorse a candidate, but it’s also possible that we won’t, and we have a very bright line that hasn’t changed, and you must communicate your federal minimum standards,” SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said on an August 15 press call, adding that candidates must disclose how they would “reign in the extremes of California and Illinois and New York — abortion up to the end.”
Following the Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday, here is what the candidates have had to say on the issue of abortion moving into 2024.
Former President Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump — who is responsible for the current make-up of the Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade and delivered the issue of abortion back to the states and their elected representatives — has not committed to a specific action on abortion if he is reelected. However, he has said the federal government has a “vital role” to play in protecting the unborn and has framed Democrats’ late-term abortion position as “extreme.”
“We will defeat the radical Democrat policy of extreme late-term abortion,” Trump said in June at Faith and Freedom Coalition’s 2023 “Road to Majority” conference.
Trump was also asked during a May 2023 CNN town hall if he would sign a federal abortion ban into law if he was elected president in 2024. While Trump did not directly answer the question, he said would “negotiate so people are happy.”
“I want to do what’s right. And we’re looking. And we want to do what’s right for everybody,” he said. “But now, for the first time, the people that are pro-life have negotiating capability, because you didn’t have it before. They could kill the baby in the ninth month or after the baby was born. Now they won’t be able to do that.”
He added:
President Trump is going to make a determination what he thinks is great for the country and what’s fair for the country. But the fact that I was able to terminate Roe v. Wade, after 50 years of trying – they worked for 50 years. I’ve never seen anything like it. They worked – and I was even – I was so honored to have done it. We are in a very good negotiating position right now, only because of what I was able to do.
And remember this, again, you talk about radicalism. People that will kill a baby in the ninth month or the eighth month or the seventh month, or after the baby is born, they’re the radicals, not the pro-life people.
The former president has said he supports exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he would always “stand on the side of life” as president and previously noted that there is an interest for Congress to pass national abortion restriction, but he has expressed a lack of will to do so, speaking more often in support of state action.
“I’ll be a pro-life president … We are running on doing things I know I can accomplish … I’m going to be a leader with the bully pulpit to help local communities and states advance the cause of life. But I really believe right now in our society. It’s really a bottom-up movement and that’s where we’ve had most success — Iowa, South Carolina, Florida — and I think you’re going to continue to see a lot of good battles there,” DeSantis said in a July 2023 interview with Megyn Kelly.
When asked in that interview whether he supports a federal restriction, he said, “the reality is that the country is divided on it.”
“I think there is a federal interest, but I think the reality is that the country is divided on it, you’re not going to see Wisconsin mimic what Texas has, you’re not going to see Pennsylvania mimic what Georgia has. We’re divided. I mean, I haven’t seen Congress move that,” he said at the time.
“I don’t have much confidence that Congress is going to do anything meaningful in this regard, so in a federalist system you have differences of opinion, and that stuff gets filtered out, but clearly, right now, you’re going to see different states go in different directions and I understand that,” he added.
When Fox News host and debate moderator Bret Baier pressed DeSantis during the Republican presidential primary debate on whether he would sign a six-week abortion limit federally, the way he did in Florida, DeSantis opaquely said he would “support the cause of life.”
“I’m going to stand on the side of life. Look, I understand Wisconsin is going to do it different than Texas. I understand Iowa and New Hampshire are going to do it differently. But I will support the cause of life as governor and as president,” DeSantis said.
In the debate, DeSantis slammed Democrats for “allow[ing] all the way up to the moment of birth” in some states.
“We’re better than what the Democrats are selling. We are not going to allow abortion all the way up until birth, and we will hold them accountable for their extremism,” he said.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has described himself as “unapologetically pro-life” but is, as of now, opposed to federal abortion restrictions.
“He is open to the constitutional argument for a federal abortion ban,” campaign manager Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Signal in July.
In an interview with the “All In” podcast in July of 2023, Ramaswamy said he would “not support a federal abortion ban of any kind on principled ground because I am grounded in constitutional principles, and I think there’s no legal basis for the federal government to legislate.”
“My view, as someone who is running for U.S. president, responding to the question about the Supreme Court case, was that Roe v. Wade was correct to be turned on constitutional grounds,” he said on the podcast. “It was made-up jurisprudence … it leads also to the path to moving forward, which is, that I think the federal government should stay out of it.”
He also told CNN in May that he does not believe “a federal abortion ban makes any sense…”
“And I say this as somebody who is pro-life. This is not an issue for the federal government. It is an issue for the states,” he said. “I think we need to be explicit about that. If murder laws are handled at the state level, and abortion is a form of murder, the pro-life view, then it makes no sense for that to be the one federal law.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Former Vice President Mike Pence has repeatedly advocated for a national minimum abortion restriction of 15 weeks, when unborn babies are believed to be capable of feeling pain.
In a June 2023 interview on Fox News, Pence said: “I think it is a winning issue…I did, this week, call on every other candidate for the Republican nomination to support a minimum standard of a 15-week ban on abortion at the national level. That would align American law with most of the countries in Europe that literally ban abortion after 12 to 15 weeks. Our laws at the national level today are more aligned with North Korea, China, and Iran than with other Western countries in Europe.”
During the Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday night, Pence said abortion is “not a state-only issue, it’s a moral issue.”
“Can’t we have a minimum standard in every state in the nation that says, when a baby is capable of feeling pain, an abortion cannot be allowed? A 15-week ban is an idea whose time has come. It’s supported by 70 percent of the American people,” he said. “But it’s going to take unapologetic leadership — leadership that stands on principal and expresses compassion for women in crisis pregnancies. I’ll do that as president.”
Ambassador Nikki Haley
Ambassador Nikki Haley has said she believes there is a federal role in protecting the unborn, but she has consistently said that passing a national limit is unrealistic and unachievable.
Instead, she has said the pro-life movement should find “consensus,” and as spoken about curtailing late-term abortions.
In a May 2023 interview with Face the Nation, Ambassador Haley said:
For a national standard, I think we have to tell the American people the truth. In order to do a national standard, you’d have to have a majority of the House, 60 Senate votes, and a president. We haven’t had 60 pro-life senators in 100 years. So the idea that a Republican president could ban all abortions is not being honest with the American people, any more than a Democrat president could ban these pro-life laws in the states.
During the Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday night, Haley identified herself as “unapologetically pro-life,” but appeared to criticize the Supreme Court for issuing the Dobbs decision last year.
“We need to stop demonizing this issue. This is talking about the fact that unelected justices didn’t need to decide something this personal, because it is personal for every woman and man. Now it’s been put in the hands of the people, that’s great,” she said.
“When it comes to a federal ban, let’s be honest with the American people and say it will take 60 Senate votes. It will take a majority of the House. So in order to do that, let’s find consensus,” she continued. “Can’t we all agree that we should ban late-term abortions? Can’t we all agree that we should encourage adoptions? Can’t we all agree that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortion shouldn’t have to perform them? Can’t we all agree that contraception should be available. And can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?”
“Let’s treat this like the respectful issue that it is and humanize the situation and stop demonizing the situation,” she said.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is a strong supporter of a national minimum abortion restriction at 15 weeks of pregnancy.
When asked if abortion is a states’ issue during a July 2023 town hall with WMUR in New Hampshire, Scott said:
The radical left has decided to continue the federal push for abortion on demand until up until the moment of birth…As your president, I would encourage and fight for a 15-week limit of abortion in our country. I believe that life has intrinsic value, without any question. I am a 100 percent pro-life conservative with a 100 percent pro-life voting record. I believe a 15-week limit is where the federal government should stop the radical left from pushing abortion up until the day of birth.
During the Republican presidential primary debate, Scott reiterated his stance and added that the United State “cannot, like California, New York, and Illinois, have abortions on demand, up until the day of birth.”
“That is immoral, it is unethical. It is wrong,” the senator added. “We must have a president of the United States who will advocate and fight for, at a minimum, a 15-week limit. I’m 100 percent pro-life conservative. I have a 100 percent pro-life record.”
“We must fight for life. Our Declaration of Independence says our creator gave us inalienable rights — that includes life,” he said. “That is an issue we must solve. We can’t leave it to Illinois. We can’t leave it to Minnesota…We must solve that issue with a 15-week limit at a minimum.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who identifies himself as pro-life, is opposed to passing federal abortion restrictions unless consensus emerges and has said abortion should “be decided state by state.”
In a June 2023 town hall with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, he said:
What I stand for, Anderson, is what conservatives have been arguing for 50 years, which is that Roe was wrong, there’s no federal constitutional right to an abortion and that the states should decide. And I absolutely believe that each state should make their decision on this. The federal government should not be involved unless and until there’s a consensus around the country from the 50 states making their own decisions about what it should be. And if at that time, there’s a consensus that has emerged, well then, that’s fine.
Christie said in April, according to NBC News:
This should be determined by the 50 states. The issue of abortion’s not in the Constitution. And the Constitution says if it’s not explicitly said here, this power reverts to the states…I would not be for the federal government being involved in the issue of abortion in any way. I believe the states should make the decisions.
Christie also supports exceptions in abortion laws that allow for abortions in cases of rape and incest, and when the mother’s life is at stake.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is pro-life and supports passing a federal 15-week minimum restriction.
When Fox News’ Shannon Bream asked Hutchinson in April if he would support a 15-week minimum federal restriction he said: “The answer is I’ve always signed pro-life bills. And a pro-life bill that comes to me that sets reasonable restrictions, but also has the appropriate exceptions, yes I would sign it. I would prefer that this is an issue that’s resolved by the states because that’s what the pro-life community fought for for 40 years, in reversing Roe v. Wade.”
“But what’s evident to me is that the Democrats are going to push for a national standard that overrules the states that allows a broad abortion access up until the time of birth,” he added.” The Democrats are going to push for that. And so, obviously, there’s going to be more pressure on the Republican side and on the life side, to put in those reasonable restrictions. And so, I do — would support that if those restrictions are in place and that if we can, through have a — have a national standard to help save the lives of the unborn.”
During the Republican presidential primary debate, Hutchinson reiterated how Democrats, if given the chance, would pass their own federal abortion laws, most likely nodding to the radical Women’s Health Protection Act.
“First of all, the Supreme Court gave it back to the elected representatives, whether it’s the states or whether it’s the United States Congress. So there is authority, and that’s why President Biden is pushing for a Democrat proposal which is, in essence, abortion demand through the term. So they have their extreme position at a national level,” he said.
“It’s most likely going to be addressed in the states, but it’s certainly fine for it to be addressed at the national level as well,” he added. “Every state can determine a different outcome here, and it is the most important issue for women and for the unborn child and for our country that we get this right.”
“It’s going to be a continued debate,” he said. “Let’s talk about it in terms of compassion, in terms of protecting life, and also understanding how we have to enhance adoption services, how we have to enhance paternal care. Those things we’ve done in Arkansas and are important for our nation’s future.”
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum does not support federal abortion restrictions and believes the issue should be left to individual states.
In June 2023, Burgum told Forbes: “No, I would not sign a federal abortion ban, I believe this is left to the states.”
During the Republican presidential primary debate, Burgum again spoke in favor of leaving abortion laws up to individual states.
“Well first of all, I’m a pro-life governor of a very pro-life state, and this issue is, of course, very important. But I am on the record and I stand behind that we should not have a federal abortion ban,” he said. “We should not, and the reason why we shouldn’t is very simple. It’s the 10th amendment in the Constitution. The states created the federal government, not the other way around.”
“It says that there are certain duties allowed to the federal government delegated to them by the states. The rest are left to the states or to the people. We need to get back to freedom and liberty for the people in this country,” he added. “And we can’t have Republicans who fight for 50 years for this great cause to return it back to the states, and then the next day, they turn around and go ‘no the feds should do that’ — because the feds are stepping into people’s lives.”
“They are stepping into people’s businesses over and over,” he continued. “If we say that the feds should be in on this one, where do we stop? I say that we follow the Constitution, and this has returned the states…where it should be.”
Former Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX)
Former Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), who did not qualify for the Republican presidential primary debate, has previously said that if a 15-week federal abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother reached his desk as president, he would sign it.
However, in a July 2023 interview with WMUR, he emphasized that abortion is a states’ issue, not a federal one.
“As an elected official, you talk about this issue, but we need to make sure this is a state issue, so the states can clarify,” he said.
Hurd has also emphasized that states with stronger pro-life laws must prioritize having “world-class maternal health and neonatal care.”
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor of Miami, Florida, Francis Suarez, who also did not qualify to participate in Wednesday’s GOP debate, has said he would support a 15-week federal minimum restriction on abortion.
In a June 2023 interview with the Associated Press, Suarez said: “We are in a situation where 70 percent of the country agrees with a limitation of 15 weeks where there is an exception for the life of the mother and an exception for rape and incest, and I think that is a position that will save a tremendous amount of babies. If there was that kind of federal law, that’s one that I would support as president.”
Suarez also said he believes the country “is not there yet” on six-week federal abortion restriction.