Former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee spoke out against abortion on Wednesday, but he said the issue can help Republicans win elections.
“If we teach the generation coming after us that it’s okay to terminate a human life because it represents a financial hardship or social disruption, what are we telling them?” Huckabee said at a gala put on by Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, according to Politico. Huckabee also reportedly suggested that the same justification that is used to terminate a pregnancy could be applied to end-of-life decisions about the elderly.
Huckabee -- who has hinted that he may run for president in 2016 and who has shown some promise in polls -- urged Republicans to focus on abortion during the midterm elections.
"This is not an issue that we should abandon," he said, according to the Hill, adding that opposing abortion is a way the GOP can "win elections."
It’s precisely the kind of focus the national Republican Party has said it's hoping to move away from. In the party’s post-mortem after Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s 2012 loss, a final report advised politicians to focus on fiscal issues over more divisive social issues.
“When it comes to social issues, the [p]arty must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming,” the report read in part. “If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues.”
