This is Totally Normal Quote of the Day, a feature highlighting a statement from the news that exemplifies just how extremely normal everything has become.
“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).” —The draft of the GOP’s 2024 policy platform on abortion
There has been infighting among social conservatives about what exactly to say about abortion in the Republican party platform this year, the first presidential election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In 2016 and 2020, the platform called for a constitutional amendment to give fetuses legal rights and a federal ban after 20 weeks, but strategists admitted that the latter proposal was “a remnant of a strategy to overturn Roe.” This time around, anti-abortion activists wanted to call for a nationwide ban at 15 weeks of pregnancy or earlier.
Donald Trump—convicted felon, adjudicated sexual assailant, and current presidential front-runner—knows that abortion is an electoral liability and has been trying to get voters to believe that he opposes federal restrictions. He claims that he instead wants abortion to remain a state issue, and his team thinks that it can spin this as Trump’s being some kind of moderate, despite his being responsible for the end of Roe.
But the former president’s most prominent comments on this point—first, in a much-hyped video, then again on the debate stage—have tellingly included some variation of “But you have to win elections,” i.e., none of this matters if Republicans lose. He’s practically winking and nodding in hopes that voters will understand that he needs them just to put him in office, then all bets are off. As president, Trump could move to ban all or most abortions by enforcing the 19th-century Comstock Act or by directing the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. Or the Trump-stacked Supreme Court could establish fetal personhood.
So it’s fitting that on Monday, the Republican National Committee’s platform drafting committee approved an abortion plank (on Page 15 of 16) that sounds as if it’s about states’ rights but actually leaves the door wide open for a national ban. The platform will be finalized by a full vote at the RNC next week.
The platform’s language embraces the idea that the 14th Amendment protects fetal personhood—an interpretation that would ban abortion nationwide. In fact, it infers that the Constitution already prohibits abortion and that such a ban would spring to life as soon as it’s recognized by the Supreme Court, as University of Texas law professor Liz Sepper noted on Twitter. And about that throwaway in vitro fertilization pledge: If the justices did uphold this view, it would mean the end of IVF as we know it. Prospective parents would have to retrieve a single egg at a time, fertilize it, and implant it. This platform also does nothing to rule out a national abortion ban under Comstock. Plus, it disingenuously suggests that the party supports access to birth control when GOP members of Congress have blocked such a bill twice in the past two years
But because, for the first time in 40 years, the abortion platform doesn’t explicitly call for a federal ban or constitutional amendment, the New York Times described it as “softened,” while the Washington Post deemed it “scaled back.” This kind of press coverage will help Trump spread the lie that he opposes federal restrictions.
If people read past the headlines, however, and get to the comments from conservative advocates, they’ll see that this platform is just as harsh as it has been in the past. That’s because anti-abortion hounds are plenty happy about it.
“While aspirational, it applies to both the states and the federal government,” said Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “The proposed ban on late-term abortion also implies federal as well as state action.” Reed noted that it “makes clear the unborn child has a right to life that is protected by the Constitution under the due process clause of the 14th amendment.” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of political behemoth Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, also sounded pleased, saying in a statement: “It is important that the G.O.P. reaffirmed its commitment to protect unborn life today through the 14th Amendment. Under this amendment, it is Congress that enacts and enforces its provisions. The Republican Party remains strongly pro-life at the national level.”
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, was even more clear on Twitter, saying, “Support of 14th amendment protections for preborn children is an open door to passing strong pro-life federal legislation.” If it’s enough for these people, that means the rest of us should be scared.
And if their comments somehow aren’t enough, look to the words and actions of two people responsible for drafting the platform. Russell Vought is the RNC’s platform policy director and also one of the authors of Project 2025, the conservative agenda written for Trump that calls on him to ban abortion by enforcing the Comstock Act. Vought was a senior official in the Trump administration credited with blocking federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood. Then there’s deputy policy director Ed Martin, a former chair of the Missouri Republican Party, who said in April that he wants a federal abortion ban and has previously said he supports imprisoning women who get abortions.
So while it’s true that the GOP abortion platform doesn’t explicitly call for a national ban, people need to realize that it could be used to achieve that horrifying end, if you read between the lines—and it’s simply part of a long con to get Trump elected again.