Scott Walker says he'll back 20-week abortion ban

Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor and likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, is jumping into a debate that may play a major role in next year's election: abortion.

Walker is pushing a bill in the state legislature that would prevent women from seeking abortions in most cases after 20 weeks.

"As the Wisconsin legislature moves forward in the coming session, further protections for mother and child are likely to come to my desk in the form of a bill to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks," Walker said in a public letter. "I will sign that bill when it gets to my desk and support similar legislation on the federal level.

"I was raised to believe in the sanctity of life and I will always fight to protect it."

Social conservatives make up a large part of the Republican electorate, and the eventual nominee will need strong anti-abortion credentials.

The Democrats, meanwhile, will likely make abortion rights a major part of the general election.

The Journal Sentinel pointed out that Walker downplayed the abortion issue during his 2014 run for re-election as governor of Wisconsin, a politically divided state:

"Walker said in last year's campaign he opposed abortion, but refused to say whether he supported banning the procedure after 20 weeks. At one stage, he ran an ad saying earlier restrictions he approved were aimed at patient safety and that he understood the decision to terminate a pregnancy was an 'agonizing one.' "