The Republican National Committee’s platform committee adopted a revised GOP platform on Monday, incorporating significant changes to the party’s stance on abortion to better reflect the views of President Trump.
The new platform explicitly states that Republicans “will oppose late-term abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance prenatal care, access to birth control, and IVF (fertility treatments),” according to a document obtained by ABC News.
The abortion section also asserts that the GOP “believes” the 14th Amendment to the Constitution “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.” This aligns with Trump’s perspective that abortion should be regulated at the state level rather than federally.
This marks a departure from previous GOP platforms that supported a 20-week federal abortion ban. Full RNC membership will vote to officially confirm the platform at the party’s convention next week in Milwaukee, according to an RNC spokesperson.
Trump joined the meeting by phone on Monday morning, explaining the inclusion of certain parts of the platform and expressing his approval of the draft.
The new platform is expected to bring changes to the GOP’s positions on other key issues, including same-sex marriage and immigration, and reflects the beliefs of Trump and his allies within the platform committee.
While a political party’s platform outlines its positions on various issues, it is not binding and does not directly influence the actions of elected officials or candidates.
The committee’s decision comes as abortion remains a pivotal issue for voters in an election year. In 2016, the Republican Party adopted a strict conservative platform regarding gender and sexual orientation, which was reaffirmed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2016 and 2020 platforms included support for a 20-week federal abortion ban and advocated for a constitutional amendment to protect human life, including that of unborn children. The upcoming 2024 platform is the first since the Dobbs decision, which overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.
Trump has been clear in his opposition to a federal ban, favoring state-level regulation of abortion. This position has raised concerns among some anti-abortion activists and RNC members worried about the removal of the “right to life” amendment from the platform.
A platform committee member told ABC News that the vote, which passed 84-14, showed significant “unanimity” around the language, even among socially conservative members who had previously opposed a platform reflecting Trump’s abortion views.
Read the 2024 GOP platform here.
