In 1992, then-candidate for president Bill Clinton expressed his wish that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” The phrase came to typify the Democratic position on the issue until the party took a radically pro-abortion turn in the 2010s.
Today, “safe, legal, and rare” describes the Republican Party’s stance on abortion. In the aftermath of the GOP shifting its platform on abortion and major contenders for the vice-presidential nomination echoing the new party line, Jonathan Van Maren observed in First Things that “the decision facing voters (in this election) may be between a pro-abortion party and a pro-choice one.”
It’s true. The platform of the historically pro-life party has been overhauled. Until a few days ago, the Republican Party recognized that unborn children have a “fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.” With language dating back to the Reagan era, it called for a human life amendment to the U.S. Constitution and legislation clarifying that the Fourteenth Amendment protects children before birth.
The new platform was approved and pushed by former president Donald Trump, reportedly without allowing for debate. Princeton’s Robert George described it as “incoherent.” The new platform invokes the Fourteenth Amendment’s “due process” clause to suggest that, now that Roe has been overturned, states are “free to pass laws protecting” unborn rights. No longer is there mention in the platform of a “fundamental right to life” or a federal human life amendment. Also, the new language promises that Republicans “oppose late term abortion,” but support “access to birth control and IVF.”
The new language directly aligns with Trump’s views on abortion. Last year, he criticized a bill in Florida that banned abortion beyond six weeks, calling it a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” Recently, he promised to keep the abortion drug mifepristone legal, and his vice-presidential pick, Senator J.D. Vance, has also come out in support of abortion pills—which account for over 60 percent of abortions.
Some will object that the platform explains that abortion is now an issue for the states, and voters can regulate abortion as they choose. All of this is because Roe is in the dustbin of history where it belongs. Isn’t that a good thing?
Of course it is. As Dr. Robert George told Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, it is good that Roe is gone and that federal courts can no longer strike down state-level abortion restrictions. However, the idea that only states should act on this issue is false. According to George: “The Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs does not say that the federal government has no role.” In fact, the new platform’s mention of the Fourteenth Amendment implies that the federal government must step in when states fail to equally protect the unborn under their current laws.
The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified by Republicans following the abolition of slavery for the purpose of requiring the federal government to intervene when states failed to equally protect their citizens under the law. This is exactly what is happening wherever abortions are performed. Which means abortion remains a state and federal issue.
Thus, it is incoherent (and frustrating) that virtually all pro-life language has been scrubbed from the Republican Party’s platform and that its presidential nominee is expressing support for the most common form of abortion. It’s also notable that the new platform has been stripped of language referring to marriage as the union “between one man and one woman,” A move celebrated by gay rights activists in the party.
Dr. George put the situation bluntly:
[This] platform waters down and walks away from bedrock principles that defined the modern Republican Party…Social conservatives, moral conservatives, religious conservatives, and Christian conservatives have nothing to cheer about here. This has been an unmitigated catastrophe for the causes and the values in which we believe.
This does not mean the two parties are interchangeable. The Democratic Party is committed to government-funded abortion up to birth and a host of distorted views on marriage, parenting, sexuality, and the human person. Still, conservatives must now ask what it means to be politically conservative when the only “conservative” party is no longer committed to conserving the most important things.
Dr. George’s advice is a good beginning: “Tell the truth.” When convenient or inconvenient, whether it brings applause or criticism, whether Democrats or Republicans are involved, tell the truth about life, marriage, family, and the human person. We cannot abandon these core principles at any time for any party or any candidate.
This Breakpoint was co-authored by Shane Morris. If you’re a fan of Breakpoint, leave a review on your favorite podcast app. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org.
Photo Courtesy:©Getty Images/Alex Wong/Staff
Published Date: August 2, 2024
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.