In Des Moines, Iowa, a significant shift is brewing within the Republican Party as they consider removing a long-standing vow to ban abortion from their party platform. This potential change comes at the behest of former President Donald Trump, who has notably refrained from supporting a national abortion ban, despite taking credit for the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The party platform, a statement of core principles traditionally crafted by party activists, is under scrutiny as Trump’s campaign pushes for a more concise document. This new platform would potentially omit statements favored by many conservatives but deemed unpopular with the broader electorate. The platform committee is set to begin its meeting on Monday, just a week before the Republican National Convention, where Trump is expected to accept his third consecutive nomination for president.
Trump has faced relentless criticism from Democrats, particularly from President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, over his role in the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the nationwide right to abortion in 2022. Despite this, some vocal abortion opponents on the platform committee insist that the aspiration of a federal ban on abortion after a certain stage in pregnancy must remain a party principle, even if it is not an immediately attainable policy or one that necessarily aids Trump’s campaign in November.
“I see that as problematic. We still need these principles clearly stated. Some of these battles are not over,” said Iowa state Rep. Brad Sherman, a platform committee member who supported Trump’s winning Iowa caucus campaign in January and also supports a federal limit on abortion.
While the abortion statement is likely to be the most contested provision in the platform, other disputes may arise over Trump’s preference for tariffs and his isolationist approach to foreign policy, particularly regarding U.S. involvement in global conflicts like the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Conservative activists, who are used to having a significant influence on the platform, have expressed frustration over what they perceive as a secretive process for selecting committee members and the closed-door nature of the meetings. “For 40 years, the Republican Party and the GOP platform have massively benefitted from an open and transparent process,” said Tim Chapman, the incoming president of Advancing American Freedom, a foundation headed by Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump’s campaign has been working to reshape the Republican National Committee into a campaign vessel. A memo from senior campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles indicated that “textbook-long platforms … are scrutinized and intentionally misrepresented by our political opponents.”
Russ Vought, a Trump ally, is serving as the policy director of the Republican Party’s platform writing committee while also leading the effort to draft the 180-day agenda for Project 2025, a sweeping proposal for remaking government. Despite Trump’s claim of knowing nothing about Project 2025, several of his former aides are involved. The campaign has suggested that the final document at the convention in Milwaukee will reflect Trump’s positions, though it remains unclear what will be included.
“Is the desire to make the platform concise and reflect the president and his policies? Yes,” said Danielle Alvarez, a Trump spokeswoman. “Until we convene, we don’t know where we’ll end up.”
Trump had previously supported federal legislation in 2018 that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, though the measure did not gain enough support in the Senate. After the 2022 midterm elections, Trump blamed Republicans with strict anti-abortion positions for the party’s failure to secure a larger House majority. He has since criticized the most stringent abortion bans in individual states.
A poll conducted by AP-NORC in June 2023 found that about two-thirds of Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The poll also revealed that 6 in 10 Americans think Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.
Biden’s campaign has criticized Republicans for making the platform committee meetings in Milwaukee closed to the news media and reminded voters of Trump’s previous support for a 20-week abortion ban. Tamara Scott, one of Iowa’s two Republican National Committee members and a platform committee member, suggested that Trump could campaign on his current position while also embracing the platform to reflect a longer-term goal of a federal limit.
“It’s our vision. It’s our foundational principles. It’s who we are as a party,” Scott said. “I agree a platform must be clear and concise but it must convey our core principles.”
For several committee members, this means maintaining support for an “amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth,” a passage first included in 1984.
Trump has been urged to keep this language in the platform, according to a letter signed by leaders of groups opposed to abortion, including Ralph Reed, Faith and Freedom Coalition founder and chairman; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; and Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List. Dannenfelser emphasized that once removed, this passage would be difficult to restore in future platforms.
“The conversation about the platform is about the future. It’s about presidential campaigns 10 years from now, and Senate campaigns and House campaigns, Republican campaigns everywhere,” Dannenfelser said. “It’s not just about this election. And that’s why it matters.”
Source: Associated Press
