Hailey slams male politicians who ‘demonize’ abortion by talking about bans

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Friday slammed former President Trump and other male politicians for “demonizing” the issue of abortion, particularly during talks over a possible 15-week ban.

“They don’t know how to talk about this,” Haley told CNN’s Dana Bash in an interview on “Inside Politics.” “They have to humanize this issue and stop demonizing it.”

Haley has previously said she seeks civility when it comes to the abortion debate, saying she would only sign any bill passed by Congress and would not support a ban for any length of time.

“I support anything that passes. But we have to be honest with the American people,” Haley said during a Republican primary debate in November. “Anything that gets 60 votes in the Senate will be signed.”

“Don’t let it seem like we’re trying to impose something on the American people when we don’t even have the votes in the Senate,” she added at the time.

Haley, Trump’s only major rival, also said abortion is a “personal issue for every woman and every man.”

In a Friday interview covered by Mediaite, she argued for a greater focus on providing other resources and finding agreement among lawmakers.

“We need to focus on banning late-term abortions, encouraging adoption, and ensuring that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortion don’t have to perform abortions,” she said. “Make contraceptives available and avoid state laws that put women who have abortions in jail or the death penalty. Start there.”

“This is about babies and women and their personal situations,” Haley added.

President Biden’s re-election campaign criticized Haley’s stance on abortion last November, calling her “not a moderate” and previously saying in an earlier interview that Haley would issue a six-week national abortion ban if passed. He cited his statement that he would sign the bill.

“Nikki Haley is not a moderate. She is an anti-abortion MAGA extremist who wants to take away women’s freedoms, just like she did when she was governor of South Carolina,” the campaign said in a statement.