Rep Nancy Mace says GOP 'tone deaf' on abortion: 'We have not learned our lesson' from midterms

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., joined "Fox News Sunday" to discuss the intel leak and her stance on abortion.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said Sunday that Republicans need to stop burying their "heads in the sand" and move more to the center on abortion if they want to start winning elections again.

During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Mace slammed any anti-abortion policies that don’t explicitly provide exceptions for rape and incest or fail to offer solutions for women seeking OBGYN care.

"We need to find a middle ground on this issue, and I have a great pro-life voting record," she said. "But some of the stances we take and especially when it comes to rape and incest, protecting the life of the mother, it's so extreme that middle, independent voters, right of center, left of center, they cannot support us."

"We've got 14 counties in South Carolina that don't have a single OBGYN doctor," she continued. "So, if we're going to ban abortion, what are we doing to make sure women have access to birth control? What are we doing about, how do we improve adoption services in our country? What about the kids that are not wanted? What about our foster care system? What about getting nurses that can treat women who need OBGYN care in those rural areas? What are we doing about getting birth control over the counter at pharmacies? There are a lot of things that we can do to protect life and not alienate the independent voter."

Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, is shown during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2023. (Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Mace argued that American voters have dramatically shifted to the left on abortion since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

"We have not learned our lesson from the midterm election," she said. "We went mildly pro-choice to being a vast majority of voters being pro-choice after Roe v. Wade. It changed the entire electoral environment in ‘22."

"What I saw last year in the midterm elections, I saw us lose seats we should have won," she continued. "It feels like we're burying our heads in the sand. And every time I stick my head out and I take a position, I take it very publicly. Republicans will call me privately and then I say, ‘Well, what bill can we do, do you want to do with me, what press conference?’ And then there's silence. It's crickets, and it's tone deaf, and we're afraid of the issue because we're afraid of our base. But that's not what the base is."

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 27, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing in the Rayburn Building on March 9, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images)

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Mace also responded to criticism from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which said the congresswoman "denounced certain protections for unborn children" and gave her a "B" rating.

"I find it ironic that Susan B Anthony would attack me," Mace said. "I'm a victim of rape, I advocate for women who have been raped, and that organization will no longer talk to my office about pro-life legislation because I'm talking about birth control. I mean, some of these groups have gotten so over the top and extreme."