Near the end of the night, the candidates were asked to address the path forward for Republicans on abortion restrictions in light of Democrats’ successes Tuesday night, which included Ohio voters adding abortion rights to their state constitution.
“I understand that some of these states are doing it a little bit different. Texas is not going to do it the same as New Hampshire. Iowa is not necessarily going to do it the same as Virginia. So you’ve got to work from the bottom up,” DeSantis said.
Haley said they need to find “consensus” and “don’t need to divide America over this issue anymore.”
“Let’s agree on how we can ban late-term abortions. Let’s make sure we encourage adoptions. Let’s make sure we make contraception accessible. Let’s make sure none of these state laws put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty for getting an abortion,” she said.
Scott reiterated his call for a “15-week federal limit” and promoted adoption.
Asked whether she would support such a ban, Haley said she would “support anything that would pass,” but said the Senate doesn’t have the votes.
Ramaswamy did not say whether he would support a 15-week ban when asked. In addition to access to contraception and adoption, he said the “missing ingredient” is “sexual responsibility for men.”
Christie said the issue should be left up to the states but said the “bigger issue” was supporting people through challenges post-birth, such as tackling drug addiction.
“Pro-life is not just in the womb,” he said. “It’s for the whole life.”
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