Key Differences Between 2024 GOP Candidates on Abortion

No issue impacted Republicans' hopes in the 2022 midterms like abortion.

Widely anticipated to ride a "red wave" to a congressional majority in 2022, Republicans faltered under the weight of the abortion question in the last midterm election cycle, only narrowly taking the House and missing the mark in swing state Senate races otherwise deemed to be competitive.

In many of those races, abortion played a key role, overcoming some voters' pressing concerns about crime and the economy where Democrats were otherwise on their heels. And after stumbling in 2022, Republican candidates for president are already toeing a fine line on the abortion issue ahead of 2024.

While the current GOP platform is diametrically opposed to abortion (the current platform passed in 2016 supports a ban on abortions after 20 weeks), polling generally shows a wide swath of Americans are opposed to enacting new restrictions on abortion, even if they believe 20 weeks to be an acceptable limit.

According to September polling by Survey Monkey and The 19th, most voters don't think politicians are "informed enough" to create fair policies on abortion, while even some Republicans in Congress have shied away from a national ban after a recent Supreme Court decision returned abortion policy to the states.

To build a winning coalition to succeed in the primary and then, the general election, Republican candidates will likely need a nuanced position on abortion to sell independents who might be squeamish about the Republican position while still embracing the concerns of the party's fringes who believe abortion should be unacceptable in all case.

Here's what the leading candidates for president have said:

Nikki Haley

Running as an alternative to flamethrowing Republicans Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and onetime South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has attempted to court moderates on abortion in the early days of her campaign.

While she claims she is personally against abortion and favors national restrictions, Haley said in an April 25 speech in Virginia she believed abortion rights should be an issue left to the states, adding that Americans would need to work together to establish consensus on the topic.

"I believe in conversation. I believe in empathy. I believe in compassion, not anger," Haley, the only female vying for the Republican nomination, said. "I don't judge someone who is pro-choice any more than I want them to judge me for being pro-life."

Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump has professed varying views on abortion throughout a lifetime in the public eye. Once supportive of abortion during his era as a celebrity New York City real estate developer, Trump took a notably sharp turn to the right on the issue in recent decades, professing as early as his 2016 election that his administration would work to appoint a judicial majority in the Supreme Court necessary to overturn the landmark national protections established under 1973's Roe v. Wade decision.

"But having to do with abortion, if it ever were overturned, it would go back to the states," he said in a September 2016 interview with 60 Minutes.

With Roe overturned last year, however, Trump has soured on what conservative states have ultimately done with their newfound freedom. After the midterm elections, he criticized Republicans for going too far on abortion.

And even as president, Trump—who personally supported a 20-week abortion ban as president—was critical of hardline abortion restrictions passed in states like Alabama barring abortions in the case of rape or incest: a position he said was out of line with Republicans like Ronald Reagan.

Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has attempted to outflank Trump to the right on a number of issues in an effort to consolidate the party moderates and "MAGA" Republicans the top candidate will ultimately need to win the primary.

And on abortion, DeSantis is much more conservative than almost any other candidate in the field. While he has not yet announced a 2024 presidential campaign, it's widely thought that he will do so soon.

On April 14, DeSantis signed a bill backed by the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—well before most women know they're pregnant, according to experts—in a major escalation of the state's already stringent 15-week ban.

But the legislation also includes limits for abortions involving pregnancies as a result of rape or incest, which would be allowed through the first 15 weeks of pregnancy provided a woman has documentation such as a restraining order or police report proving the incident.

The bill signing gave shape to DeSantis' abortion policies. On the campaign trail against Democrat Charlie Crist last year, DeSantis was largely silent on abortion, even when asked directly. When asked at a news conference last March whether he supported exceptions for victims of rape and incest, DeSantis called those policies "sensible" and that he would "welcome pro-life legislation" before quickly pivoting to another topic.

Asa Hutchinson

After previously saying abortion should be left to the states, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson committed to supporting a national 15-week abortion ban during an interview on Fox News earlier this week.

"I've always signed pro-life bills. And a pro-life bill that comes to me that sets reasonable restrictions, but also has the appropriate exceptions, yes I would sign it," he told Fox News' Shannon Bream in an April 23 interview.

Notably, Hutchinson's apparent change of heart came shortly after Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America—a conservative anti-abortion group—released a statement claiming it would oppose any 2024 presidential candidate (Donald Trump included) who did not back a national abortion ban.

"The Supreme Court made clear in its decision that it was returning the issue to the people to decide through their elected representatives in the states and in Congress," the group said in a statement on April 20.

"Holding to the position that it is exclusively up to the states is an abdication of responsibility by anyone elected to federal office. This holds especially true for the president, more than any other federal official, because he or she has a responsibility to forge national consensus and progress on the most egregious human rights violation of our time."

Vivek Ramaswamy

Tech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy's views on abortion are a hybrid of moderate and conservative positions on abortion.

In his own interview on Fox News, the author and entrepreneur said he favored banning abortions at "around six weeks" of gestation—in line with some of the strictest bans being considered nationwide. However, he told America's Newsroom, the issue should be left to the states to decide.

"This is not an answer for the president, because I think the federal government should be out of this," he said on the program. "But if you're a governor or you're dealing with this in the states, I can share with you my opinion on it."

Though critics have maintained six weeks is still too early for most women to know when they're pregnant, Ramaswamy added he would be willing to support rape or incest exceptions.

Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence has sought to establish himself as the most "pro-life" candidate on the campaign trail, making numerous appearances at so-called "pregnancy crisis centers" and religious institutions to establish credibility with the anti-abortion crowd.

Pence's position on abortion is a simple one, and contrasts sharply with Trump's: restrict it federally.

"I do think it's more likely that this issue is resolved at the state level, but I don't agree with the former president, who says this is a states-only issue," Pence told reporters in Iowa earlier this month. "We've been given a new beginning for life in this country. I think we have an opportunity to advance the sanctity of life, move it ever closer to the center of American law."

While it's unclear how strict the ban would be, Pence, who has not yet announced a 2024 campaign, has suggested a 15-week federal abortion ban should be on the table and, in recent days, has called for abortion pill mifepristone to be pulled "off the market" as its legal status remains in limbo in federal court.

Tim Scott

While not officially running, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott's exploratory committee for president has already publicly come out in support of a 20-week abortion ban at the federal level.

"It makes total sense to me," Scott told reporters during an April 14 stop in New Hampshire.

Other facets of Scott's position on abortion, however, have been elusive. During that same campaign stop, Scott declined to answer questions about the potential legality of abortion medications like mifepristone, saying that the courts were figuring it out.

Pressed by CBS News on whether he'd support his Senate colleague Lindsey Graham's more restrictive proposal to impose a 15-week abortion ban, Scott appeared to stumble over the question, dodging specific questions on whether he would back a federal ban.