Haley Campaign Press Release - What People Are Saying About Haley's Abortion Speech

CHARLESTON, S.C. – This morning, presidential candidate Nikki Haley delivered a major policy speech on abortion at the Susan B. Anthony List headquarters in Virginia. Her speech is being widely praised for standing for principle, while showing respect and understanding for the deeply personal nature of this issue.

CBN's David Brody: "Just finished attending @NikkiHaley pro-life speech at @sbaprolife. She says, 'I do believe there is a federal role on abortion...the next president must find national consensus.' She's STRONG on this because it's heartfelt. It's not just a checkmark for her. PITCH PERFECT today." (Twitter, 04/25/23)

Wall Street Journal's Kimberley Strassel: "I thought it was very brave of her. And by the way she carved out a position that you may see other candidates follow on the Republican side. She said, I'm very pro-life, but this needs to be something that, at least at the federal level, we need to be working harder to find consensus between both sides." (Fox News, 04/25/23)

Former Republican Congresswoman Nan Hayworth: "I thought it was a superb speech for a national audience as well. She approached her Republican audience with respect. She staked out a position that certainly the majority of Republicans hold, which is protective of life. But she also spoke movingly and cogently about the need to work towards a consensus. It was a nuanced reference, but you can hear her saying, look, if we can't work cooperatively with the other side of the aisle and with Americans who feel differently, that's a losing position for us. And I agree with her on that. I thought it was a superb speech, and she now sets the bar for her fellow Republicans in this primary race." (NewsMax, 04/25/23)

Reuters: "Haley and her staff have often portrayed her as uniquely positioned to talk about abortion and other issues that affect women, given that all other candidates in the Republican field are men. During the speech, Haley spoke of personal experiences, including her own difficulty conceiving." (Reuters, 04/25/23)

The State: "Haley's speech was at times deeply personal, relating her husband's adoption, her own struggles to conceive, and the 'anguish' a friend felt after being raped and worrying that she would have an unwanted pregnancy. The former South Carolina governor also cited her own experience removing the Confederate Flag from the statehouse in Columbia as proof that she is able to find compromise on emotionally difficult issues." (The State, 04/25/23)

CNN's Kylie Atwood: "She called for a constructive conversation to try and find consensus on this sensitive issue. Essentially making the case, John, that there is more of a middle ground on the issue of abortion than most folks give credit to when they have discussions on this topic. And one of the things that she really honed in on is why she is pro-life. She spoke about her personal experience, her husband being adopted. She also talked about having challenges conceiving her own children, and those are two of the main central reasons that she said she's pro-life....She did say that generally speaking the conversation on this topic, from her viewpoint, is just too divisive." (CNN, 04/25/23)

Bloomberg: "Presidential contender Nikki Haley called for a 'national consensus' on abortion and urged her party to acknowledge the limits of federal action on the issue, which has vexed fellow Republicans eager to win over women and swing-state voters." (Bloomberg, 04/25/23)

Washington Examiner's Tiana Lowe: ".@NikkiHaley is correct. Only focusing limiting on the supply side of abortion (restrictions) is not truly pro-life. Republicans like Haley and Sen. Ernst have excelled at focusing on reducing demand (contraception deregulation)" (Twitter, 04/25/23)

NewsNation: "Nikki Haley came out today in her speech talking about how, yes she does have a certain stance on abortion. But when it comes to voters and how they actually feel about the issue it is way more nuanced. It should not be the polarizing issue that it's made out to be by the democrats." (NewsNation, 04/25/23)

MSNBC's Ali Vitali: "You've got the only woman in this field taking the issue head on as opposed to some of her other rivals who are being more reactive in their stances on the abortion issue. But for Haley, being here was not as much about specifics, as it is in her way, of just trying to lay the groundwork that she wants to set, not necessarily a week mark, not even necessarily what she plans to do specifically on this issue, but instead trying to build, in her words, consensus, on one of the thorniest issues of our time....We're watching Haley work from the most extreme positions on both sides back towards some sort of middle." (MSNBC, 04/25/23)

NBC News' Allan Smith: "Nikki Haley getting out ahead of her GOP presidential rivals in delivering a speech to outline her abortion position" (Twitter, 04/25/23)