Anti-abortion extremist Nikki Haley tries to present herself as a “moderate,” but make no mistake: she has a yearslong, horrific record of trying to deny women their reproductive freedoms. For those keeping track at home, Haley has promised to sign “any” national abortion ban that came across her desk, including a six-week national abortion ban, and new reporting from NBC reveals Haley is willing to go even further. As a state legislator, Haley backed two “right to life” bills that applied due process and equal protection to embryos upon fertilization. Both bills — one without exceptions for rape, incest, or even to save a mother’s life — would have severely limited abortion access in South Carolina, putting women’s lives on the line. 

Haley knows her dangerous, anti-freedom agenda is too extreme for hardworking Americans, and that’s why she continues to duck questions about her record at every turn. Voters will make Haley answer to it at the ballot box next November. 

Key Point: “Haley has cast that as an appropriate and necessary emphasis for someone running for president of a tightly divided nation. But it is a sharp shift from what she emphasized not only as South Carolina’s governor but, before that, as a state legislator.” 

NBC News: Nikki Haley’s history on abortion policy includes backing strict bans in S.C.

By: Jillian Frankel

• Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has worked on the campaign trail to strike a balance between declaring herself “unapologetically pro-life” and advocating for finding national consensus on abortion access.

• Haley has cast that as an appropriate and necessary emphasis for someone running for president of a tightly divided nation. But it is a sharp shift from what she emphasized not only as South Carolina’s governor but, before that, as a state legislator.

• During her time in the state House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010, Haley backed two “right to life” bills that would have significantly limited abortion access statewide, although neither bill ultimately became law.

• In 2010, Haley co-sponsored a bill proposing that life begins at fertilization, with due process and equal protection both applying to embryos, essentially imposing a complete ban on abortion. The bill, which died in committee, did not include any exceptions — not for rape, incest or the life and health of the mother. 

• And in 2005, Haley voted in favor of another bill that made a similar due process and equal protection proposal beginning at fertilization, but included an exception for rape victims taking a morning-after pill.

• While campaigning for president, Haley has so far largely dodged specifics on questions about the number of weeks at which abortion should be federally banned. “Nikki is 100% pro-life. As president, she will bring people together to save as many babies and support as many moms as possible,” Haley’s campaign responded in a statement.