Governor Chris Christie holds his 132nd Town Hall Meeting In Whippany

Gov. Chris Christie.

(Aris Economopoulos/NJ Advance Media)

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie was the last of 14 Republican presidential contenders to publicly support a federal proposal to ban abortions after 20 weeks.

Christie, who's mulling a White House bid, issued a statement Monday supporting a ban on abortions after five months of pregnancy. It came shortly after a national anti-abortion group called the governor out for being the only likely 2016 GOP contender not to take a public position on a federal proposal to ban the practice.

The governor, who in 2009 became the first New Jersey politician to oppose abortion and win a statewide campaign following the Roe v. Wade decision, urged Congress on Monday to "take swift action on this important issue."

The proposed federal legislation Christie referred to is "The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act."

"I am a proud to be a pro-life Republican," Christie said in the statement. "I believe that every life is an individual gift from God and that no life is disposable."

The comment came after the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List emailed its supporters a list highlighting statements from likely Republican candidates on the federal legislation. It listed 13 likely candidates who support the legislation and noted Christie was "the only exception."

Christie's statement came soon after the email went out.

"There is complete unity on the Republican side around this highly reasonable proposal to protect pain-capable children after five months," said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser in a statement.

In February, Christie touted his controversial vetoes of funding for women's health centers in New Jersey as a measure of his anti-abortion bona fides, telling a national conservative group key to Republican presidential hopefuls that he "vetoed Planned Parenthood funding five times."



For years, Christie never publicly used that as a reason for his actions in New Jersey. Instead, he maintained he nixed millions of dollars for the centers, which included some run by Planned Parenthood, because of either budgetary reasons or because the services could be found elsewhere in the community.

Christie's office didn't immediately respond to questions about the timing of the governor's endorsement of the federal proposal and referred inquiries about the statement to the anti-abortion group's website.

Governor Chris Christie holds his 132nd Town Hall Meeting In Whippany 25 Gallery: Governor Chris Christie holds his 132nd Town Hall Meeting In Whippany

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.