Republicans set aside differences over abortion at ‘unity’ convention

Republican Rep. Edna Wales of Florida does not support abortion because, as a Roman Catholic, she believes it is immoral.

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

It was surprising to hear her take that stance at a rally this past week, given that a national abortion ban has been a key issue for religious Republicans for decades, but Wales’s position is the same one currently supported by the party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

The former president had bragged about a panel of U.S. Supreme Court justices overturning the constitutional right to abortion. The 2022 ruling upended the landscape of abortion access in the United States, with Republican-led states swiftly outlawing or restricting abortion while other Democratic-led states took steps to protect access.

After months of debate, Trump has publicly backed away from the issue, saying abortion should be left to the states. While the party appears to be aligned with its candidate — “unity” was a major theme at its convention this week — on the surface, some differences have emerged between Trump’s Republican Party and the most ardent members of the anti-abortion movement who want to end abortion nationwide.

“Given where President Trump is and where the pro-life movement is, I think there’s the potential for a split,” said Marc Short, who was chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, one of the Republican Party’s most staunch anti-abortion politicians.

Trump’s position is likely a political calculation, as polls show a majority of Americans support access to abortion. The demise of Roe v. Wade gave Democrats a strong political agenda to campaign on: protecting access. Democrats performed better than expected in the 2022 midterm elections, with many pollsters and commentators crediting the abortion issue.

Trump supporters at the Milwaukee convention told the BBC they appreciated the pragmatism shown at the convention: “We understand how carefully Trump has to tread. [abortion] “It’s because I ran for president,” Wales said.

She said she thought the pressure on Trump from the right was unfair: “A lot of people are against abortion. You know, there are a lot of people who are in favor of abortion, and it’s a very sensitive issue.”

Internal tensions over the issue came to the surface with the release of the 2024 Republican Party platform, which outlines policies and positions on a range of key issues.

In 2016 and 2020, the chamber’s abortion division appointed anti-abortion judges, promised to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and called for adding a “Life Amendment” to the Constitution.

This year, the section on abortion was heavily edited.

The section on abortion was cut from 775 words to 90. The four-sentence pledge commits to being pro-life and against “late-term abortions.”

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution also states that “no person shall be denied life or liberty without due process, and therefore the States are free to make such laws as they shall protect these rights,” and adds that “we have vest that power in the States and in the suffrage of the people.”

Republicans in Milwaukee offered little objection to the new language and rallied behind the candidates. “I’m in favor of states deciding,” said Maria Rodriguez of Georgia, who described herself as a “pro-life Christian” and switched to the Republican Party because of her opposition to abortion.

“I don’t think this is something that should be done nationally,” said Louisiana Representative Jackie Cannon. “I think it should be done state by state.”

But the changes have also sparked anger.

Short told the BBC that religious conservatives were “disappointed” with the platform’s position on abortion and some saw an end to Roe v Wade as “a first step”.

His former boss, Mike Pence, was among them, calling the platform a “big disappointment” that eliminated “the historic pro-life principles that have been the bedrock of our platform for many years.”

“They crushed us,” Gail Ruzicka, a former Republican National Committee platform committee member, told WISN in Milwaukee. “I’m very disappointed that there’s no pro-life language in our party whatsoever.”

At first glance, the 2024 abortion bill seemed to reflect President Trump’s new, more moderate stance on holding states accountable. But careful observers sensed something different.

“This platform isn’t going to win any awards for eloquence,” said Christy Hamrick, vice president of policy at Students for Life, one of the nation’s largest anti-abortion groups. But she said the platform gave “what we wanted.”

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

The 14th Amendment has long been invoked by anti-abortion activists who argue that unborn children should be afforded the same rights as other Americans. In this view, a federal ban on abortion already exists in the Constitution, so no new amendment or law is needed.

“Invoking the 14th Amendment to protect ‘all life’ is a clear invocation of the personhood of the fetus,” says Rachel LeBoucher, dean and professor of law at Temple University Law School and a leading authority on reproductive health law. “That must be the ultimate goal.”

In other words, what appears to be a softening of language on abortion could actually be interpreted as a path to a potential nationwide ban on abortion.

Most of the national anti-abortion movement’s leaders joined Hamrick in praising the platform, with 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 signing a letter pledging their support for the platform.

Experts say the confusion is probably intentional and shows the party is trying to tap into its socially conservative base while also appealing to moderate voters who broadly support abortion rights.

“The reality is that Republicans are trying to appeal to two mutually exclusive constituencies on the abortion issue,” said Mary Ziegler, a historian and law professor at the University of California, Davis and a leading expert on the abortion debate.

“I think this platform was designed to appease these people, but clarity alone doesn’t do that,” she said. “I think confusion is the best strategy that’s come out so far.”

Here in Milwaukee, even skeptical Republicans are lining up with Trump on the abortion issue, a sign of his firm grip on the Republican Party.

Former US senator Rick Santorum, a known anti-abortion politician, told the BBC at the party convention that he was “clearly disappointed” with the new platform but that “Donald Trump is a strong pro-life president”.

He predicted there could be more debate about abortion within the party in the coming years, but said now, with Trump poised to become the nominee, was not the time.

“I don’t think it’s that big a fight right now,” he said.