For the first time in 40 years, a federal abortion ban has been eliminated from the Republican Party's platform.
The 16-page document removes calls for constitutional changes banning abortion nationwide but still protects the life of a fetus. The platform supports former president Donald Trump's political position of leaving each state to render its own laws.
The platform states in part, "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."
It's a significant move for a party that worked for decades to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“If you truly are pro-life, then you are celebrating this move because it is taking it to the states, where the majority of them are going to be conservative. These legislators are going to be able to push pro-life legislation through, that it won't take one man or one Congress to be able to destroy with an executive order or a law if one partisan group gets a hold of both houses of Congress,” said Scottie Nell Hughes, political commentator and strategist.
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson says the platform reflects the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Dobbs v. Jackson, which removed federal protection for women seeking abortions.
"It acknowledges what happened with the Dobbs decision. Dobbs did not outlaw abortion. It's: 'Let we the people decide, at what point does society want to protect life,'" Johnson said.
Abortion rights advocates say this is not a win for reproductive freedom. Karen Musick with the Arkansas Abortion Support Network says that her organization is working to help young girls who have been raped travel out of state to obtain an abortion.
"This is the result of giving it back to the states. Our state doesn't want people to have the right — the human right — to take care of their own bodies. That's not a federal issue, a state issue — it's a human issue," said Musick.
The GOP's abortion platform has remained stable for decades, and it's unclear how much this change has to do with the former president's stance or whether it's a response to recent ballot initiatives affirming abortion rights in several historically red states.
