Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said Republicans will “lose huge” in future elections unless they find a “middle ground” on abortion.
Mace urged for centrism on abortion policy, arguing that complete abortion bans or severe restrictions will alienate voters while speaking on ABC’s This Week.
NANCY MACE BLASTS GOP FOR ‘NOT OFFERING ANY TYPE OF SOLUTION TO REDUCE GUN VIOLENCE’
“I want us to find some middle ground. As a Republican, a conservative, constitutional conservative who’s pro-life, I saw what happened after Roe v. Wade because I represent a very purple district — as purple as this dress,” Mace said. “And I saw the sentiment change dramatically, and as Republicans, we need to read the room on this issue because the vast majority of folks are not in the extremes.”
The South Carolina Republican called out the recently enacted six-week abortion ban in Florida and a bill filed by a “very small group of state legislators” in South Carolina that punished women with capital punishment for getting abortions.
“That is the wrong message heading into ’24. We’re going to lose huge if we continue down this path of extremities,” she added. “And finding that middle ground: The vast majority of people want some sort of gestational limits, not at nine months but somewhere in the middle. They want exceptions for rape and incest. They want women to have access to birth control. These are all very commonsense positions that we can take and still be pro-life.”
Mace also said abortion “hurt” the GOP in the midterm elections but that there is a way to discuss abortion and win elections citing her 2022 campaign.
“As a Republican, I told my story on the campaign trail. I actually ran an ad about my own circumstances. I was raped as a teenager and talked about how I would work and protect women who have been raped, girls who are victims of incest. And rather than winning by 1 point, like I did two years ago, we ended up winning by 14 points,” Mace said.
“We made this issue part of our campaign because I want women to know you can be pro-life and be pro-woman. They are not mutually exclusive. We have hidden away from this issue. We have buried our head in the sand. We are afraid to talk about it. Because we are afraid, we want to go to the extreme corners of this issue, but that’s not where the vast majority of Americans are right now, and we have to show compassion, especially to victims who have been raped,” she added.
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Mace has been a critic of the GOP’s messaging and strategy on abortion, previously saying it influenced swing voters against Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections.
The congresswoman also urged the Food and Drug Administration to ignore the court ruling that suspended the approval of mifepristone, which can be part of a two-drug regimen to induce an abortion. The Supreme Court froze the ruling by the district judge on Friday, meaning mifepristone will still be available in the meantime.
