Republicans drop federal abortion limits from 2024 platform — after seeing it being used against GOP candidates
The Republican National Committee is not explicitly endorsing a federal ban on abortion in its current platform as the party conforms to the whims of former President Donald Trump.
While Trump has been concerned about the political impact that the issue may have on Republicans, the platform change is a move that anti-abortion activists have been arguing against.
The platform does, however, invoke the 14th Amendment to suggest that fetuses are guaranteed rights, and supports a ban on “late term” abortion, which is not a medical term.
An RNC committee adopted a draft platform on Monday that states “Republicans will protectand defend a vote of the people, from within the states, on the issue of life.” The platform will be finalized next week following a vote of the full convention.
A landmark Supreme Court decision in June 2022 overturned Roe v Wade, which enshrined a constitutional right to abortion care. The decision effectively left the legality of abortions up to individual states.
“We proudly stand for families and Life,” the RNC platform section on abortion goes on to state. “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.”
That stance brings the platform in line with Trump’s approach to abortion.
He has often bragged about appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe but has also shared his concerns about the electoral implications that the issue may have for Republicans.
The platform states: “After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term