The RNC Didn’t ‘Soften’ Its Abortion Stance in Trump-Backed Platform

On Monday, the Republican National Committee adopted former President Trump’s official 2024 platform. And almost as conspicuous as the sprawling, child-like, all-caps assertions and blatant lies that read exactly like Trump tweets, is what appears to be missing: abortion. The most recent party platform, adopted in 2016, included the word “abortion” 35 times and called for a national ban. This year, the word appears just once on the second-to-last page of the 16-page document—without any references to the issue in the platform’s 20-point preamble, and with no direct mention of a ban.  But don't be fooled, and take any headline—about how Trump and the GOP have "softened" their abortion stance—with a serious grain of salt. All the new platform proves is that Trump and his party recognize the deep unpopularity of their abortion bans, given how every poll and almost every electoral outcome since the Supreme Court (thanks to Trump!) killed Roe v. Wade shows voters strongly support abortion rights. And even if the platform barely mentions abortion directly, it speaks for itself that Trump appointed anti-abortion extremists—many of whom have direct ties to Project 2025—to the committee. This isn’t insignificant—in 2016, many of the platform committee members went on to work for Trump’s administration. Despite the Republican Party’s attempts to conceal its real abortion agenda by omission, the committee members’ records—and their almost inevitable roles in a hypothetical Trump administration—speak volumes. Plus, the platform itself is still rife with code words that present as moderate while being anything but. Near the end of the platform, it states:  Republicans Will Protect and Defend a Vote of the People, from within the States, on the Issue of Life We proudly stand for families and Life.  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. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).  It’s hard to know where to start with unpacking this. First, the reference to the 14th Amendment signals support for fetal personhood—anti-abortion politicians have long pushed for embryos and fetuses to be recognized as citizens under that amendment, with all the rights of citizens. As for the nod to states determining their own abortion laws, that’s what’s currently happening—and it's the reason tens of thousands are being forced to spend massive amounts of money to travel out-of-state for basic health care, why infant mortality is on the rise, why dozens of women have sued their states for endangering their lives. Then, there’s the stigmatizing phrase “late-term abortion,” as the RNC makes clear it would support a national abortion ban, supposedly just for later abortions. But an abortion ban is an abortion ban, period. As for the stated support for birth control and IVF—come on. Congressional Republicans have repeatedly struck down nonpartisan efforts to codify rights to both, as recently as June. Several Republicans have even equated or compared certain contraceptives as well as IVF with abortion, consequently endangering our rights to both. Trump himself suggested he was open to birth control restrictions in May, and in his first term, took several steps including defunding family planning organizations to make birth control less accessible.  The RNC Platform Committee just adopted the 2024 Republican Party platform. Here's what it says, per Donald Trump's campaign: pic.twitter.com/XZcgJgwwru — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 8, 2024…