Nikki Haley, the pro-life former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor, officially launched her presidential campaign today. She is the second Republican candidate to announce a presidential campaign, joining former President Donald Trump.
Although Haley may have a smaller chance of winning the nomination compared to Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis, if he enters the race, Haley talks about defying political expectations, saying, “I’ve never lost an election, and I’m not going to start now.”
The former governor says Republicans have to do better in elections and that she can be the candidate to get back to winning ways.
“Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections. That has to change,” Haley said in the video announcement announcing her candidacy for president.
Haley added that Biden’s record is “abysmal.” She accused those in Washington of failing Americans, vowing to “rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border, and strengthen our country, our pride, and our purpose.”
“I’m Nikki Haley, and I’m running for president,” she said in the video with the tagline, “Stand For America.”
She continued: “Some look at our past as evidence that America’s founding principles are bad. They say the promise of freedom is just made up. Some think our ideas are not just wrong, but racist and evil. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
“It’s time for a new generation of leadership,” Haley said in her video. “To rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose.”
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Watch her full video announcement below:
Get excited! Time for a new generation.
Let’s do this! 👊 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CP
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023
A leading pro-life group welcomed Haley to the race.
“Nikki Haley’s strong pro-life, pro-woman leadership stands in contrast to the false ‘feminism’ of abortion advocates. As governor of South Carolina, she signed legislation to stop late-term abortions when unborn children can feel pain, and she has continued to advocate for our laws to catch up with the consensus of Americans and the civilized world. As U.N. ambassador she stood unflinchingly for human rights, advancing America’s prerogative of defending life against pro-abortion forces that would impose an international ‘right’ to abortion on demand. The preciousness of every human life is deeply personal to her, something she speaks frankly about in sharing both the joys and struggles of motherhood and family. She has a heart for service and is committed to addressing the needs of women facing unexpected pregnancies with compassion,” said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser.
“The Dobbs decision returned the issue of abortion back to the American people to decide through their elected representatives in the states, in Congress, and in the White House. We need a president who will champion minimum federal standards to protect unborn children and their mothers from the horror of abortion nationwide.
“We welcome Nikki Haley and all presidential contenders outlining their pro-life vision and policy platform in the new Dobbs era as the primary election unfolds.”
Haley has a strong pro-life record.
After Haley ordered an investigation of abortion clinics in the state following a national scandal involving Planned Parenthood selling aborted babies and their body parts, state health officials found multiple violations. Haley said the investigation she ordered had found violations of laws or regulations by all three abortion clinics in the state, including one operated by Planned Parenthood. Two of the abortion clinics may be forcibly closed unless they take fast action to get in compliance with the law. According to state officials, the violations include improper infectious waste disposal practices.
“The entire country was shocked by the videos showing Planned Parenthood employees’ horrifying disregard for human life,” Haley said in a written statement. “That prompted me to ask our appropriate state agency to investigate whether such wrongdoing was taking place in our state. The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has now completed its investigation and has concluded that all three abortion clinics in the state are in fact in violation of South Carolina laws or regulations.”
“I fully support DHEC’s actions, including its referral of the matter to SLED,” said Gov. Haley. “South Carolina is a compassionate state, and we are a state of laws. We will not tolerate law breaking of any kind, particularly as it relates to the callous treatment of human life.”
“I believe every life has a value and is blessed by God–my husband was adopted and my pro-life convictions stem from the fact I feel the blessings of that value every day knowing someone chose life for him. I see it every day in my two children as I watch them grow. My hope is that we continue to encourage and work towards educating that value of life to everyone, ” Haley has said.
In 2012, Haley signed two key pro-life bills to protect babies who are born alive after failed abortions and to opt-out of abortions in the federal health care insurance in the Obamacare exchange.
Though abortion advocates deny the science of fetal pain, researchers have fully established fetal pain at 20 weeks or earlier. Dr. Steven Zielinski, an internal medicine physician from Oregon, is one of the leading researchers into it. He first published reports in the 1980s to validate research showing evidence for unborn pain.
In a formal bill signing ceremony at the Carolina Pregnancy Center in Spartanburg, Haley signed the Opt Out of Abortion Act and the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, both strongly backed by South Carolina Citizens for Life and numerous pro-family organizations.
The Born-Alive Infant Protection Act would protect unborn children who are born alive after a failed abortion but may be purposefully left to die afterwards. The legislation defines an infant born alive as a person even if the baby survives an abortion attempt and makes it so babies who are born alive under any circumstances cannot be treated as medical waste, or deliberately killed because they are unwanted.
And in her role as UN ambassador, Haley took a strong pro-life position against the global abortion cartel.
