U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has long considered herself an independent voice within the GOP, and that characteristic was on full display during a recent Fox News Channel interview.
Although she described herself as pro-life, she claimed that others in her party had gone too far to protect the lives of the unborn after the U.S. Supreme Court repealed its Roe v. Wade decision last year.
Her position attracted the ire of some in her own party and pro-life organizations like Life News.
Nancy Mace is a sellout. If you can't even stand up for babies killed in abortions you're no better than the left.
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) April 11, 2023
That move gave states the freedom to enact their own abortion laws, prompting many Republican-led legislatures to ban abortions in most cases. For her part, Mace claimed that such efforts have backfired by turning more Americans into pro-abortion activists.
“Even though I’m pro-life, I represent a pro-choice district,” she said. “And I saw the tide change after Roe was overturned.”
Mace said her district went from “mildly pro-choice” to overwhelmingly supportive of abortion in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision and the subsequent implementation of state restrictions.
Claiming that the issue “changed the entire electoral environment in ‘22,” she lamented that Republicans “have not learned our lesson” after a midterm election that delivered fewer wins than the party had hoped.
“I mean, some of these groups have gotten so over-the-top and extreme, we need to find a middle ground on this issue,” Mace added. “And I have a great pro-life voting record, but some of the stances we’ve taken — especially when it comes to rape and incest, protecting the life of a mother — it’s so extreme, the middle, the independent voters, right of center, left of center, they cannot support us.”
Instead of focusing so much on preventing abortions, she recommended supporting policies that would not “alienate the independent voter,” adding: “We’re afraid of the issue because we’re afraid of our base, but that’s not where the base is.”
She also weighed in on her party’s abortion stance during a recent CNN interview.
Of course, Mace is no stranger to speaking out against her own party, which she has previously portrayed as a constructive trait.
“My willingness to work behind the scenes — and then when that’s not successful, being outspoken publicly — I think has been very helpful to the conversation,” she declared earlier this year.
