Former Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said he would not sign legislation restricting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy Tuesday if elected president, saying there was “no consensus” on the “emotional issue.”
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed legislation restricting abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, in April.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 after upholding a Mississippi law in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that banned most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
“I would not sign a six-week national abortion ban,” Christie responded when asked by “CNN This Morning” co-host Phil Mattingly if he’d sign a similar bill as president. “The reason I wouldn’t is because we fought for 50 years, I think we had this conversation a little bit before, we fought for 50 years to put this in the hands of the people, to say federal government, in that case the Supreme Court, took it out of the hands of the people and gave them no voice. Now people have a voice. You mentioned Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, and one thing I know for sure is there is no consensus around a six-week abortion ban nationally.”
Abortion was a top issue for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections following the Dobbs decision. During those elections, Republicans underperformed expectations of a “red wave” nationally, although DeSantis defeated former Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist, who served as governor from 2007-2011 as a Republican, by over 19% in the Florida gubernatorial race.
“We see a great exercise in democracy going on across the country. This is one of the most emotional issues. I am pro-life, that’s my personal belief and I believe strongly in it,” Christie said. “Here is the bottom line. People should be able to make this choice. It’s too emotional to put this in the hands of politicians. If you are the American people and watch this House of Representatives try to pick a speaker and see what they went through. Watch the Senate not be able to promote military officers because they are so paralyzed. You want to put abortion in the hands of those folks? I don’t.”
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama told fellow Senators he would be lifting his hold on military promotions to protest a Pentagon policy allowing servicemembers to travel for abortions.
Former President Donald Trump has the support of 61.3% of respondents, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls from Nov. 9 to 26, while Christie gets the support of 2.3%.
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