The five Republican presidential candidates on stage during the third GOP primary debate on Wednesday criticized their party’s efforts to chart a path forward on abortion in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who argued the country is “better off when we can promote a culture of life,” said Republicans at the state level must do a better job opposing initiatives aimed at limiting abortion restrictions.
“You need to do a better job in this referenda. I think of all the things that have happened to the pro-life cause, they’ve been caught flat-footed on this referenda and they’ve lost the referenda,” DeSantis said, seemingly referring to the Ohio ballot measure passed Tuesday enshrining the state’s constitutional rights . to abort up to the level of fetal viability.
“Many of the people who voted for the referenda are Republicans who will vote for the Republican candidate. So, you have to understand how to do it,” he added.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who calls herself “unrepentantly pro-life,” said the abortion question is “a personal issue for every woman and every man.”
Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during the third Republican presidential primary debate at Knight Concert Hall in Miami, Florida, on November 8, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
“Even though I’m pro-life, I don’t judge anyone for being pro-choice, and I don’t want them to judge me for being pro-life,” Haley said. “So when we look at this, there are some states that are more pro-life. I welcome that. There are some states that prefer the pro-choice side. I hope not so. But the people make the decision.”
The former Trump administration official also indicated that he would be open to signing federal legislation that would restrict access to abortion, but said he does not see a path forward for that to happen.
“When it comes to federal law … be honest,” Haley said. “It will take 60 votes of the Senate, a majority of the House and a president to sign it. So no, we haven’t had a 60 vote Senate in over 100 years. We might have 45 pro-life senators. So no Republican president can ban abortion any more than a Democratic president can ban this state law.”
From left to right — former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and Senator Tim Scott seen during the Republican Presidential Primary Debate.Getty Images
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) is a strong supporter of federal legislation banning abortion, arguing in favor of a national limit of 15 weeks.
“I will not allow states like California, Illinois or New York to perform abortions until the day of birth,” he said.
“I will challenge both Nikki [Haley] and Ron [DeSantis] to join me at the 15 week limit. It is in the interest of our country. And frankly, I think it’s unethical and unethical and immoral to allow abortion until the day of birth,” she added, noting that she would also support federal funding for crisis pregnancy centers and encourage adoption.
Abortion rights protesters chant slogans and display banners after tying a green flag to the White House fence to pressure the Biden administration to act and protect abortion in Washington, DC.AP
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy encouraged more men to speak out against abortion and slammed the passage of the Ohio ballot measure as emblematic of “Republican defeatist culture.”
“The Republicans have no amendment or alternative vision on the table,” he said.
Ramaswamy then demanded “sexual responsibility for men,” calling him the “missing ingredient” in the pro-life movement.
“We live in an era of reliable genetic paternity testing that is 100% reliable, so we can say men deserve more responsibility. So we can tell women, we’re all in this together. It’s not about men’s rights versus women’s rights. It’s about basic rights human,” he argued.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie slammed efforts to implement federal restrictions on abortion, arguing that federal intervention would “short-circuit” the state and that there was no consensus among Republicans on what those restrictions should be.
“For 50 years conservative lawyers have argued that the federal government should have nothing to do with this issue constitutionally because it is not in the Constitution. And then [Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization] came and finally we got the victory,” he said.
“And now we have people saying, let’s bypass the state from doing what they need to do. And let’s go straight to some kind of federal ban and some specific weeks, and the people on stage have been all over the place – 20 weeks, 15 weeks 12, 6,” he added.
“We shouldn’t be bypassing that process until every citizen of the state has the right to weigh in,” Christie said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
