Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she considers frozen embryos produced through in vitro fertilization to be “babies,” siding with her on an issue that resonates with conservative voters three days before the South Carolina primary. On the side of the Bama Supreme Court.
“To me, the embryo is the baby,” Haley told NBC News in an interview that aired Wednesday. She softened those remarks during an appearance on CNN’s “King Charles” Wednesday night.
Justices on the state’s highest court last week recognized that unimplanted human embryos are children and ruled that a state law that allows parents to recover punitive damages for a child’s death includes the parents of an unborn child regardless of its ability to survive outside the womb. The decision is thought to make it harder for people to get pregnant through fertility treatments.
“When you talk about embryos, to me, you’re talking about life — so when they talk about this, I do understand where it’s coming from,” Haley said in the interview.
However, she told hosts Gayle King and Charles Barkley on CNN, “I didn’t say I agreed with the Alabama ruling. I was The question asked is, ‘Do I believe an embryo is a baby?'” I do think that if you look at the definition, the embryo is considered an unborn baby, so yes, from where I stand, it is. “
“The goal is to always act in accordance with the parents’ wishes for the embryos, so any doctor who has control of those embryos should be accountable to those people to make sure they protect that embryo and to make sure they do what the parents want disposed of of the embryo. ,” Haley said.
The former South Carolina governor said her son, now 22, was conceived through artificial insemination and has previously said she is “unapologetically pro-life.” During last year’s Republican primary debate, Haley said states should determine their own abortion policies and downplayed the idea of a federal ban.
As governor, she signed a bill banning abortions before 20 weeks, without exception for rape or incest.
Haley trails Republican front-runner former President Donald Trump by 25 percentage points in her home state, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average. The Palmetto State, where religious conservatives make up a large portion of the electorate, will hold its primary election on Saturday.
While Haley has vowed to remain in the race at least until Super Tuesday, March 5, the situation may be more challenging if Trump builds on last month’s decisive victories in Iowa and South Carolina by a wide margin. Win, and Haley’s path to the nomination will be difficult to chart. New Hampshire.
READ MORE: Alabama embryo ruling gives abortion opponents tools to expand fight
Asked about the impact Alabama’s decision might have on those seeking IVF treatment, Haley said on NBC, “It’s very personal, very sensitive, I think. That’s the conversation doctors need to have with their patients. We should never underestimate the relationship between doctors and patients when doing these things.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
