Why the New Republican Platform Is Moderate on Abortion
The party platform previously called for a constitutional amendment to protect unborn children. Now, it says abortion should be left to the states.
The Republican Party has changed its official platform on abortion, taking a less extreme position that reflects both former President Donald Trump's statements on the issue and the new political realities.
Previously, the platform called for constitutional changes that would ban abortion nationwide. Now, it says the matter should be left to the states.
Republican National Convention (RNC) delegates approved the amended platform on Monday.
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Why Republican Reproductive Rhetoric Is Shifting
The change is interesting for what it says about the shifting politics of abortion in America. A majority of Americans are pretty moderate on this issue, believing neither in abortion without any limits nor in total bans.
Extremist positions on abortion—popular among a segment of the GOP base—were OK so long as Roe governed U.S. abortion laws and total bans had no chance of becoming reality. But in the past two years, since the Supreme Court overturned Roe and some states have enacted strict abortion bans, it's become clear that absolutist positions on abortion are not an election-winning strategy. And we've begun to see some Republican rhetoric change to reflect this.
"The word 'abortion' appeared 35 times in the 2016 Republican platform. It only appears one time in [the 2024] document," notes CNN.
The GOP's new abortion plank certainly isn't pro-choice by any means. But it does express support for the idea that abortion laws should be determined by the people of each state, and it also endorses policies that advance access to birth control and fertility treatments.
That last bit seems deliberately intended to assuage fears—and counter Democratic claims—that Republicans want to go after contraception and in vitro fertilization, too.
A History of GOP Platforms on Abortion
The word abortion first appeared in the Republican Party platform in 1976, according to The Washington Post.
"The question of abortion is one of the most difficult and controversial of our time," the platform said back then. Abortion "is undoubtedly a moral and personal issue" on which Republicans may disagree, it noted, calling for "a continuance of the public dialogue on abortion."
Nonetheless, the '76 platform also professed support for "the efforts of those who seek enactment of a constitutional amendment to restore protection of the right to life for unborn children."
Similar language regarding a constitutional amendment remained in the party platform for decades.
The 2016 platform asserted that "the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed" and called for "a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to children before birth."
The party did not adopt a new platform in 2020 because of the pandemic.
What the GOP's New Abortion Plank Says
Here is the 2024 abortion plan in full:
We proudly stand for families and Life. 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. After 51 yers, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).
This new platform "still includes language that links abortion to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, leaving open a path to legislation or court decisions that would grant fetuses additional legal rights," notes The Washington Post.
Besides, party platform language is in no way binding.
Nonetheless, the platform change seems to signal a shift away from embracing one-size-fits-all abortion laws nationwide. That's good news for supporters of reproductive freedom and believers in state's rights.
The Trump Influence
Trump was reportedly "heavily involved" in the party's platform on abortion changing.
Trump himself has shifted his position on abortion over the years. In 1999, he said that while he hated "the concept of abortion," he was "very pro-choice." By 2011, he was calling himself pro-life. And in 2017, he said he strongly supported a 20-week abortion ban nationwide.
But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Trump called it a decision that would "work out for everybody," since it "brings everything back to the states, where it has always belonged." In 2023, he criticized the way abortion was "poorly handled" by Republicans who didn't favor exceptions to bans. And, in April, he again suggested it was good that "the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both."
Whether Trump's more recent statements reflect his personal values or a political calculation is anyone's guess. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. The GOP is the Trump Party now—where he stands tends to be where the party stands. And where he stands seems to be in personal opposition to abortion but slightly less willing than some members of his party to impose that view on everyone.
Because Trump is such an idiosyncratic political figure, the remaking of the Republican Party in his image tends to be a mixed bag. There aren't a lot of pure bright spots for fans of freedom, to be sure. But every now and then, the faintest glimmer of libertarianism slips in.
Convention Attendees React
At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, reactions to the abortion platform shift have been predictably mixed.
"Delegates repeatedly [said] they agreed with the change," reports Axios:
Axios spoke to 10 delegates from various states on the first night of the RNC.
- Across the board, they expressed their staunch personal anti-abortion rights stance but said they believed abortion laws should be left to the states.
- Delegates from Michigan and New York even admitted they disagree with the abortion policies in their blue states but believed it is important to allow states to adopt their own policies.
Meanwhile, "anti-abortion protesters demonstrating Monday outside the Republican National Convention said they felt out-of-step with the party and former President Donald Trump," notes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"The national Republican Party, the RNC and the president ought not to take the pro-life base for granted," said Matt Sande, legislative director for Pro-Life Wisconsin, who was among those who rallied near Haymarket Square Park in downtown Milwaukee.
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• Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) on the Department of Justice lawsuit against Apple: It's "not actually about protecting consumers" but "a thinly veiled attempt to accomplish through litigation what Democrats could not get done through legislation."
• Arkansans for Limited Government is suing over the state's rejection of the abortion rights amendment the group is trying to get on the November ballot.
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