RNC Republicans differ on abortion stance

Republican Representative Edna Welsh from Florida does not support abortion. As a Roman Catholic, the procedure went against her moral values.

But she told the BBC at a street market at the Republican National Convention that her policy position was that this should be left to the states. “I definitely feel that way,” she said.

Given that a nationwide ban on abortion has been a hot-button issue among religious Republicans for decades, it was surprising to hear such a stance at the weeklong gathering. However, Ms. Wells’ position is the same one now espoused by the party’s presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

The former president boasted about appointing a U.S. Supreme Court justice who overturned the constitutional right to abortion. The 2022 decision upended the abortion landscape in the United States, with some Republican-led states moving quickly to outlaw or restrict abortion procedures while other Democratic-controlled states took steps to protect abortion access.

After months of back-and-forth, Trump has made something of a public retreat on the issue, saying abortion should now be left to states. While the party appears to be in lockstep with their nominee — a key theme of this week’s convention is “unity” — beneath the surface, Trump’s most ardent members of the Republican Party and the anti-abortion movement want to see abortion There are already some glimmers of hope among members of the movement.

“I think the situation that President Trump is in and the anti-abortion movement is in could be divisive,” said Marc Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. Anti-abortion politicians.

Given that polls show a majority of Americans support abortion, Trump’s stance is likely a political calculation. The end of Roe v. Wade also gives Democrats a powerful political issue to campaign on: protecting access. They performed better than expected in the 2022 midterm elections, which many pollsters and experts attributed to the abortion issue.

Trump supporters attending the Milwaukee convention told the BBC they appreciated the pragmatism involved. “I understand he has to handle things so carefully [abortion] Because he’s running for president,” Ms. Wells said.

She said she believed the right-wing pressure on Trump was unfair because “a lot of people are against abortion. You know, a lot of people are pro-abortion and it’s a very sensitive subject.”

Internal tensions on the issue came into the open with the release of the 2024 Republican Party platform, which outlines its policies and positions on a variety of key issues.

Its abortion division pledged in 2016 and again in 2020 to appoint anti-abortion judges, cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and call for a Human Life Amendment to be added to the Constitution.

This year, the abortion section was significantly revised.

It cuts the abortion section from 775 words to 90 words.

It also states that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution “guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life or liberty without due process, and therefore the States shall be free to pass laws protecting these rights.” It then added: “Because of us, this power is given to the states and to the people, the right to vote.”

Milwaukee Republicans expressed no objection to the new language and supported their nominee. “I agree that this has to be decided by the states,” said Maria Rodriguez of Georgia, who describes herself as a “pro-life Christian” who switched to the Republican Party because of her opposition to abortion.

“I just don’t think this should be a national thing,” said Representative Jackie Canon of Louisiana. “I think it should be done state by state.”

But the changes also sparked some outrage.

Mr Short told the BBC that religious conservatives were “disappointed” by the platform’s stance on abortion, with some seeing the end of Roe v Wade as a “first step”.

His former boss, Mike Pence, was among those who called the platform “deeply disappointing” and that it removed “historic anti-abortion principles that have long been the foundation of this platform.”

“They crushed us,” Gail Ruzicka, a member of the Republican National Committee’s platform committee, told WISN Milwaukee. “I’m very disappointed that we don’t have any pro-life language.”

At first glance, the 2024 abortion platform appears to reflect Trump’s new, more moderate stance of placing responsibility on states. Those paying close attention saw something different.

“This particular platform is not going to win any awards for eloquence,” said Christy Hamrick, vice president of policy at Students for Life, one of the nation’s largest anti-abortion groups. But, she said, the platform gave us “what we asked for.”

“The 14th Amendment is the legal foundation on which we will build a new, more pro-life America,” she said. “This is a win.”

For years, anti-abortion activists have proposed the Fourteenth Amendment, arguing that fetuses should have the same rights as other Americans. According to this thinking, a federal abortion ban already exists in the Constitution and does not require a new amendment or law.

“Invoking the Fourteenth Amendment to protect ‘every life’ is a clear appeal to the personhood of the fetus,” said Rachel Rebouché, dean and professor of law at Temple University School of Law and a leading scholar in the field of reproductive health law. “This must be the end of the game.”

In other words, language that appears to be softening on abortion could actually be read as a possible path to a nationwide ban on abortion.

Most national leaders of the anti-abortion movement joined Ms. Hamrick in praising the platform. Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America’s Marjorie Dannenfelser, Americans United for Life’s John Mize and Faith & Freedom Alliance’s Ralph Reed all signed a letter pledging support for the platform.

Experts say any confusion is likely intentional and signals a sign of the party’s struggle to juggle its social conservative base while trying to appeal to mostly moderate voters who support abortion.

“The reality is that the Republican Party is trying to appeal to these two incompatible constituencies on the abortion issue,” said Mary Ziegler, a historian and law professor at the University of California, Davis, and a leading expert on the abortion debate.

“I think the purpose of this platform is to appease all these people… You can’t do that by being explicit,” she said. “I think chaos is the best strategy that’s emerged right now.”

Even skeptical Republicans in Milwaukee are backing Trump on abortion, showing his grip on the party.

Prominent anti-abortion politician and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum told the BBC at the convention that he was “obviously disappointed” with the new party platform, “but Donald Trump Trump is a strong anti-abortion president.”

He expects there may be more debate over abortion within the party in the coming years, but with Trump on the verge of securing the nomination, he said now is not the time.

“I’m not sure it’s a fight right now,” he said.