Where does GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli stand on abortion rights?

Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill are running for governor of New Jersey, in a race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. The election will take place on Nov. 4.

Both candidates have informed voters about their views on reproductive rights and abortion.

Ciattarelli is a former member of the New Jersey General Assembly who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2021. According to his campaign website, Ciattarelli “understands that any decision to terminate a pregnancy is deeply personal. As governor, he won’t pretend to know what is inside a woman’s heart or head. He believes that with certain reasonable exceptions/restrictions agreed upon by the vast majority of Americans, this decision should be between a woman, her partner, her faith, and her healthcare professionals.”

However, the site also says that Ciattarelli’s “personal position” is to prohibit “elective abortions” after 20 weeks; oppose taxpayer funding of abortion; oppose what the site calls “the so-called ‘Reproductive Freedom Act’”; and support parental notification for minors seeking an abortion. 

In 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reversed the nationwide right to abortion affirmed in Roe v. Wade, Murphy signed the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act into law, codifying a constitutional right to reproductive choice in the state, including “the right to contraception, the right to terminate a pregnancy, and the right to carry a pregnancy to term.” 

New Jersey law currently contains no restrictions on abortion by gestational age; minors do not need parental consent; and New Jersey is one of 17 states in which Medicaid funds abortions. 

Sherrill’s website states her support for “enshrining the right to an abortion in New Jersey’s state constitution to permanently protect reproductive freedom. … New Jersey must take action to require comprehensive insurance coverage for all reproductive health care services, including abortion. I will continue our work expanding access to contraception and IVF services so that every New Jerseyan has affordable access to the family planning services they need.”” 

“We know from polling that we do here in New Jersey that New Jerseyans’ views on abortion have remained stable in the past five or so years of our polling,” Alyssa Maurice, research director at Stockton University’s William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, told the New Jersey Independent. “We know the Dobbs decision was extremely unpopular among New Jerseyans; most voters, including 20% of Republicans, think the Dobbs decision was bad for this country. So we have polling to show that New Jerseyans are largely supportive of abortion rights, albeit at different levels, but we still see majority support across the board, among men, women, and voters of all parties.” 

Maurice said Sherrill’s challenge will be to make the case that reproductive rights in the state aren’t as protected as voters think, and that Ciattarelli could chip away at those rights. 

“He supported Chris Christie’s budgets that defunded Planned Parenthood. He said as governor, he would defund Planned Parenthood, and he said he would sign an abortion ban,” Sherrill said in an op-ed for NJ Spotlight News published on July 16. “So, with one stroke of a pen, Jack could begin to take away the freedom we know and love right here in New Jersey.” 

Ciattarelli recently received the endorsement of President Donald Trump. During a campaign appearance in June, Ciattarelli said: “But know this: why elections are so important? Your next governor, Jack Ciattarelli, gets to appoint two new Supreme Court state justices, one of which is the chief justice. And we’re not just going with Republicans — we’re going with conservative Republicans on our state Supreme Court.” 

“I’m committed to defending our Constitution, just like I did in the Navy, and nominating state supreme court justices who will uphold the rule of law and protect our communities,” Sherrill said in a statement, according to InsiderNJ. “These decisions show that the stakes of this race are important for our state, our rights, and our values.”

Maurice said this fall’s election will be a bellwether that Trump will likely watch closely.

“He may get very involved in this New Jersey race, because he knows that Ciattarelli’s success is kind of a signal for ahead of the midterms,” she said, adding that Trump’s involvement could also be a liability for the candidate.  

“This election will also be a referendum on the Trump administration. National politics will also have an impact. The cost of living is still high. Trump’s ratings are not great, so that’s sort of working in Sherrill’s favor,” Maurice said.