A new platform, which was released by the Trump campaign and voted to adopt by the Republican National Committee (RNC) platform committee Monday, does not mention a federal abortion ban. Rather, the adopted language affirms the right of states to pass legislation limiting abortion:
“We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied life or liberty without due process and that the states are, therefore, free to pass laws protecting those rights” it reads.
The platform aligns more with former President Donald Trump’s take on the abortion issue and will be finalized by a vote of the full convention body next week.
National Review explains that in the 2016 and 2020 platforms, the Republican Party outlined specific measures to limit abortions, including supporting a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks and urging states to pass the Human Life Amendment, which sought to amend the Constitution to declare that life begins at conception. The previous platform emphasized that “the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.”
The new platform, however, includes a significant shift from the national abortion ban previously championed by the GOP. The updated platform now calls for the issue to be managed by individual states.
While the new platform refrains from advocating for a federal abortion ban, it does still highlight Republican opposition to “late-term abortion” and expresses support for “access to birth control and IVF (fertility treatments).”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, welcomed the platform’s approval. In a statement on Monday, she said it is “important that the GOP reaffirmed its commitment to protect unborn life today through the 14th Amendment.” Dannenfelser emphasized that under this amendment, it is Congress that enacts and enforces its provisions, maintaining that the Republican Party remains strongly pro-life at the national level. She added that the mission of the movement going forward “must be to defeat the Biden-Harris extreme abortion agenda.”
Conversely, Kristen Ullman, president of Eagle Forum, criticized the draft platform’s rapid adoption process. “This process is not how the rules of the Republican Party claim the process is supposed to work,” Ullman told the National Review. She expressed disappointment, noting, “The rules say that we are an open and transparent party and that the delegates have historically had the opportunity to read, digest, and amend the platform, and they were not given this opportunity.”
