Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said he would not sign a six-week federal abortion ban into law.
“I would not sign a six-week abortion ban and the reason is because we fought for 50 years, and I think we had this conversation a little bit before, we fought for 50 years to put this in the hands of the people,” Mr. Christie said Tuesday on CNN. “To say the federal government, in that case, the Supreme Court had taken it out of the hands of the people and given them no voice.”
The question was asked of the former New Jersey governor while discussing fellow Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s stance on the issue.
“Now people have a voice. So we’ve seen it. You’ve mentioned Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas,” Mr. Christie said. “And one thing I know for sure is there is no consensus around a six-week abortion ban nationally.”
At a campaign event in Iowa earlier this month, Ms. Haley said she would’ve signed a six-week abortion ban in South Carolina if it had been brought to her desk while she was governor.
When asked if he thought Ms. Haley’s stance made her “unelectable,” Mr. Christie suggested it could cause problems if she were the party’s nominee.
“I think it makes it much more difficult in a general election for her, because you could see when Governor [Ron] DeSantis signed that bill in Florida, it certainly affected his popularity with the broader electorate,” Mr. Christie said. “And my view is this: I want the people, not the politicians, to make this decision. So let people vote in the states. We see a great exercise in democracy going on all across this country.”
Abortion has been a big topic in this election cycle after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June, taking away the constitutional right to abortion. Since then, 14 states have enacted near-total bans on abortion past roughly six weeks.
“I am pro-life. That’s my personal belief and I believe strongly in it,” Mr. Christie said. “Here is the bottom line: people should be able to make this choice. It’s too emotional to put this in the hands of politicians.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.