On Wednesday Nikki Haley launched her presidential campaign. However, during her remarks at the event in South Carolina, she avoided speaking about one key issue in the conservative space: abortions.
Former President Donald Trump, who is currently the front-runner for the Republican nomination according to most polls also has not made any big announcements regarding this topic since launching his campaign on November 16th. Trump also did not mention abortions during his two January 28th addresses in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
More importantly, Trump did not make any references to the Supreme Court and judiciary changes his administration had achieved, despite the fact that the appointment of 234 judges, including 3 conservative Supreme Court justices, had been key in the overturning of Roe v. Wade and reshaping of the courts.
Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, had previously also served as a governor in South Carolina. During her tenure, she signed abortion restrictions into law. This is something that many Democrats pointed out after Haley launched her presidential campaign.
This decision to not talk about abortions may be deliberate for the GOP, as the overturning of Roe v. Wade led many proponents of abortions to become a lot more active and vocal. There is also a division within the Republican party and the conservative movement on how abortions should be handled now that Roe has been overturned.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a Trump ally and author of a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks, has said that he believed abortions would be one of the issues discussed in the primary. He added that in South Carolina – especially if you want to run for President – you need to “have a strong pro-life stance.”
