Christie Says He Would Not Sign a Federal Six-Week Ban on Abortion If Elected

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said Tuesday he would not sign a six-week federal abortion ban if he were elected due to the lack of a national consensus around such a limit.

“One thing I know for sure is there is no consensus around a six-week abortion ban nationally,” the former New Jersey governor said during an appearance on CNN.

While Christie said he personally opposes abortion, he said he would only sign a federal bill as president that aligns with the national consensus on the issue. He noted voters have come out to the ballot box in support of abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned, which he cited as evidence that there is no national consensus for a six-week ban.

“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 able to promote military officers because they are so paralyzed. You want to put abortion in the hands of those folks? I don’t. As president, I would not sign a six-week abortion ban,” he said, suggesting abortion should be in the hands of the people.

Christie suggested Nikki Haley’s comment that she would sign a six-week abortion ban in South Carolina if she were still governor could make her theoretical general election odds “much more difficult.”

Haley’s comments came in response to a question from Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats during a candidate forum earlier this month. Vander Plaats asked if she would sign a six-week ban if she were still governor.

“Yes, whatever the people decide, you should go,” Haley said. “I think it’s right to be in the hands of the people. I think that the people decided this was put in the states. That’s where it should be. Everybody can give their voice to it.”

“That’s where the people of South Carolina decided. They decided to be at six weeks as well,” she said. “When we find these states that are more pro-life, it’s a blessing. We should welcome that.”

Haley has said there must be a national consensus on the issue and has said it would be unrealistic to believe a proposed 15-week federal abortion ban would get enough votes in Congress.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban in Florida, something Christie suggested “certainly affected his popularity with a broader electorate.”

Former president Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the presidential race, suggested back in May that Florida’s ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy is “too harsh.”

“If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don’t even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh,” Trump told The Messenger at the time.

“I’m looking at all alternatives. I’m looking at many alternatives,” the former president said.

Trump later declined to say whether he would sign a federal abortion ban or what kind of abortion policy he would support. “What I will do is negotiate so that people are happy,” he said, while taking a victory lap for having appointed the Supreme Court justices who as part of the conservative majority voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.