GOP embraces Trump abortion language in new party platform
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Former President Trump speaks during a rally at Greenbrier Farms on June 28 in Chesapeake, Va. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The 2024 Republican Party platform adopted Monday does not include language supporting a national ban on abortion, the latest sign that the Trump-led GOP is trying to soften its tune on the politically potent issue.
Why it matters: Abortion is one of the GOP's biggest potential political vulnerabilities, and former President Trump, who has repeatedly taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade, now says that restrictions should be left to the states.
- It's the first time in four decades that the Republican National Committee's platform does not include language that supports federal restrictions on abortion.
Zoom in: The RNC platform, which also mirrors Trump's platform on a number of other policy issues, says that the party opposes "late term abortion" and supports "access to birth control, and IVF (fertility treatments)."
- "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," the platform states.
- The document also touches on several other Trump campaign priorities, such as supporting mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and ruling out cuts to social security and Medicare.
- It also echos some of Trump's frequent rhetoric, such as calling for ending "the weaponization of government" and for promoting election integrity, — a central issue for Trump, who continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
What they're saying: "President Trump's 2024 Republican Party Platform articulates his vision to Make America Great Again in a way that is concise and digestible for every voter," Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, Trump campaign senior advisers, said in a news release.
The other side: Democrats have made protecting access to reproductive rights a unifying theme of their campaigns, and they've repeatedly tied Trump to the state-level abortion restrictions that have passed in the two years since Roe was overturned.
- "Donald Trump has made it clear with his own words and actions what he will do if he regains power — rip away women's freedoms, punish women, and ban abortion nationwide," Biden-Harris 2024 Spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.
- "Despite Trump and his team's best efforts, the American people are clear on just how far he would go to rip away their freedoms – and they'll vote accordingly this November," Chitika said.
Flashback: In 2020, the RNC decided to reuse its 2016 platform instead of building a new one.
- The platform for 2016 and 2020 supported a federal ban on abortion after 20 weeks, per the New York Times, which first reported on this year's changes.
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