Stacy Garrity, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the Pennsylvania governor's race, said she would respect the state's current abortion law despite her previous backing of anti-abortion legislation.
Garrity, the state's treasurer, said she would not support a statewide ban on abortion and said she would "respect the current law on the books," which allows abortion through the 23rd week.
Her campaign website no longer sells pro-life merchandise, including "Life Won" bumper stickers, "Born to be Pro-Life" onesies, and "Defund Planned Parenthood" T-shirts, Politico reported.
Garrity has accused Gov. Josh Shapiro of being "far out of the mainstream" on abortion.
"As a woman who underwent several rounds of IVF treatments, this is a profoundly personal issue to me," Garrity said in a statement. "I believe in the dignity of every human life, but I have always supported exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother."
Looming in the wings is state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who is staunchly pro-life and unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022. Mastriano is considering another run.
Republican consultants have praised Garrity's handling of the issue.
"You could say that it's part of a strategy to show folks that she's not Doug Mastriano on some key things, because Doug Mastriano, as the candidate for governor, was a stone-cold loser," said Christopher Nicholas, a longtime Pennsylvania-based GOP consultant to Politico. "To signal to the [Republican Governors Association] and to potential donors that they understand what's at stake and they understand how to run a statewide campaign."
Nicholas said he did not believe voters were still concerned about abortion.
Adam Hosey, the political director of Planned Parenthood's Pennsylvania PAC, told Politico that Garrity's abortion stance was "absolutely disqualifying."
Sam Barron ✉
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