MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Republican National Committee's policy committee has approved a policy paper that reflects former President Donald Trump's position opposing a federal abortion ban and leaving restrictions to states, missing the specific basis for a national ban for the primary time in 40 years.
According to 2 people briefed on the wording, the committee approved the text: “We believe that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that no person shall be denied life or liberty without due process of law and that the states are therefore free to enact laws to protect those rights.”
Two leading anti-abortion activists spoke on condition of anonymity about internal party deliberations.
The move comes as Trump imposes his priorities on the committee by attempting to avoid strict abortion language, at the same time as he campaigns for the Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022. Trump appointed three of the six justices who voted with the bulk to overturn the 1973 abortion rights precedent.
The abortion language was first reported within the New York Times.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, praised the committee for reaffirming “its commitment to protecting unborn life through the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.”
Dannenfelser disagreed with Trump's view that the matter is solely within the hands of the states. “Under this amendment, it is Congress that enacts and enforces its provisions.”
The platform is a press release of core principles traditionally written by party activists. Trump's campaign wants the group drafting this 12 months's platform to supply a shorter document that excludes statements which can be endorsed by many conservatives but could also be unpopular with the broader electorate.
The program committee meeting begins Monday, per week before the beginning of the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin, where Trump is predicted to just accept his third consecutive nomination for president.
Trump has faced criticism from Democrats for months over his abortion policies. President Joe Biden's campaign has identified, amongst other things, that Trump nominated half of the Supreme Court justices who would strike down federal abortion rights in 2022. But among the most vocal anti-abortion figures on the campaign committee say the push for a federal ban on abortions at a certain stage of pregnancy must remain a celebration principle, even when it shouldn’t be an immediately achievable goal or necessarily prone to help Trump's campaign in November.
“I think that's problematic. We still need those principles clearly spelled out. Some of these fights are not over,” said Iowa state Rep. Brad Sherman, a celebration committee member who supported Trump's successful Iowa caucus campaign in January and likewise supports a federal limit on abortion.
While the abortion statement is prone to be probably the most controversial provision in his platform, there is also disputes over Trump's preference for tariffs, his isolationist approach to foreign policy and US involvement in global conflicts, particularly support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Conservative activists, who’re used to having a seat on the table, were annoyed by what they said was a secret selection process for committee members and the closed-door meeting.
“For 40 years, the Republican Party and the GOP platform have benefited massively from an open and transparent process,” said Tim Chapman, the incoming president of Advancing American Freedom, a foundation led by Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump's campaign has tried to show the Republican National Committee right into a campaign vehicle. In a memo last month, top campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said that “textbook platforms … are closely scrutinized and deliberately misrepresented by our political opponents.”
Trump ally Russ Vought serves as political director of the Republican Party platform-writing committee and can also be leading efforts to draft the 180-day agenda for Project 2025, a sweeping government transformation proposal that Trump said Friday he knew “nothing” about, despite several former aides being involved.
In 2018, Trump supported federal laws that will have banned abortions after the twentieth week of pregnancy. However, the measure didn’t receive the crucial support within the Senate.
However, after the 2022 midterm elections, Trump blamed Republicans who were strict opponents of abortion for the party's failure to achieve a bigger majority within the House of Representatives. Since then, he has criticized the strictest abortion bans in individual states.
An AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2023 found that about two-thirds of Americans consider abortion ought to be legal in all or most cases. The poll also found that 6 in 10 Americans consider Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion across the country.
Biden's campaign criticized Republicans for holding this system committee meetings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, behind closed doors and reminded voters of Trump's previous support for a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Tamara Scott, one among two members of the Republican National Committee in Iowa and likewise a member of the platform committee, said Trump could campaign on his position and likewise use this system to advance the longer-term goal of limiting the variety of deaths nationwide.
“That's our vision. Those are our core principles. That's who we are as a party,” Scott said. “I agree that a platform has to be clear and concise, but it has to convey our core principles.”
Trump was urged to maintain the language in his platform, in keeping with a letter signed by leaders of anti-abortion groups, including Dannenfelser, Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
Once this section is removed, it’ll be difficult to revive it on future platforms, Dannenfelser said.
“The discussion about the platform is about the future. It's about presidential campaigns 10 years from now, it's about Senate campaigns and House campaigns, it's about Republican campaigns everywhere,” Dannenfelser said. “It's not just about this election. And that's why it's important.”
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