Republicans put aside abortion differences at ‘unity’ conference

Edna Wales, a Republican congresswoman from Florida, does not support abortion. As a Roman Catholic, the procedure goes against her moral values.

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

Given that a nationwide abortion ban has been a contentious issue for religious Republicans for decades, it was a surprising stance to hear at the weeklong gathering. But Wales’s stance is similar to the one currently being advocated by Donald Trump, the party’s presidential nominee.

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

After months of back-and-forth, Trump has publicly backed away from the issue, saying abortion should now be left to the states. While the party appears to be on board with its candidate — the theme of this week’s convention was “unity” — beneath the surface, some bright spots have emerged between Trump’s Republican Party and the most fervent members of the anti-abortion movement who want to see the procedure ended nationwide.

“I think where President Trump is now and where the pro-life movement is now could be divisive,” said Marc Short, former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence — one of the party’s most staunch anti-abortion politicians.

Trump’s stance may be a political calculation, as polls show that a majority of Americans support access to abortion. The end of Roe v. Wade also gave Democrats a powerful political issue to campaign on: protecting access. They performed better than expected in the 2022 midterms, and many pollsters and experts view abortion as a high issue.

Trump supporters at the Milwaukee convention told the BBC they appreciated the pragmatism at play. “I understand why he has to be very careful in how he handles it. [abortion] because he is running for president,” said Ms. Wales.

She said she believes the pressure from the right on Trump is unfair, because “a lot of people are against abortion. You know, a lot of people are for abortion, and it’s a very sensitive subject.”

Internal tensions over the issue spilled into the public eye with the release of the Republican Party’s 2024 platform, which outlines the party’s policies and positions on many key issues.

In 2016 and again in 2020, the court’s abortion division promised to appoint anti-abortion judges, cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood and called for adding a “human life amendment” to the Constitution.

This year, the abortion section has been heavily edited.

It cuts the section on abortion from 775 words to 90. The four-sentence pledge promises to protect life and oppose “late-term abortion.”

It also states that the 14th 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 free to pass Laws protecting those Rights.” It then adds: “For our sake, that power has been vested in the States, and by a vote of the People.”

Republicans in Milwaukee were less concerned about the new language and supported their candidate. “I agree that it should be up to the states,” said Maria Rodriguez of Georgia, a self-described “pro-life Christian” who switched to the Republican Party because of the party’s opposition to abortion.

“I just don’t feel like it should be done nationally,” said Jackie Canon, a delegate from Louisiana. “I feel like it should be done state by state.”

But these changes have also caused some anger.

Mr Short told the BBC that religious conservatives had been “disappointed” by the platform’s stance on abortion, and some saw ending Roe v Wade as a “first step”.

His former boss, Mike Pence, was among them, calling the platform “deeply disappointing” for erasing “historic pro-life principles that have long been the bedrock of this platform.”

“They overruled us,” Gail Ruzicka, who sits on the RNC’s platform committee, told WISN Milwaukee. “I’m incredibly disappointed that we didn’t have any pro-life language.”

At first glance, the 2024 abortion platform seemed to reflect Trump’s new, more moderate stance, placing the burden on the states. Those who paid close attention saw something different.

“This particular platform is not going to win any awards for rhetoric,” said Kristi Hamrick, vice president of policy at Students for Life, one of the largest anti-abortion organizations in the country. But she said it gave us “what we asked for.”

“The 14th Amendment is the legal foundation we need to build a new, more pro-life America,” she said. “It is a victory.”

The 14th Amendment has been proposed by anti-abortion activists for years to declare that unborn children should be given the same rights as other Americans. According to this thinking, the federal ban on abortion already exists in the Constitution and no new amendment or law is needed.

“Invoking the 14th Amendment to protect ‘all life’ is clearly an appeal to the personhood of the fetus,” said Rachel Rebouché, dean and professor of law at Temple University Law School and a leading scholar on reproductive health law. “That should be the ultimate goal.”

In other words, what may seem like a softening of the language on abortion could actually be interpreted as a viable path to a nationwide ban on abortion.

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

Experts say any confusion is likely intentional, a sign of a party balancing its socially conservative base while also trying to appeal to moderate voters who largely support abortion rights.

“There are, in fact, two incompatible groups of voters that Republicans are trying to appeal to on the issue of abortion,” 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 platform is designed to appease all these people… and you can’t really do that by being clear,” she said. “I think confusion is the best strategy that has come out.”

Even skeptical Republicans in Milwaukee are siding with Trump on abortion, a sign of his control of the Republican Party.

Former US Senator Rick Santorum, a prominent anti-abortion politician, told the BBC at the conference that he was “obviously disappointed” with the party’s new platform “but Donald Trump is a president who is strongly pro-abortion”.

He predicted there could be more debate about abortion within the party in the coming years, but with Trump on the verge of being nominated, he said now is not the right time.

“I’m not sure this is a real war right now,” he said.