The Republican Party has unveiled a new platform for the first time since 2016, highlighting state-level control of reproductive rights and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants as its official stance. This comes as former President Donald Trump is set to become the GOP’s presidential nominee next week.
The platform, adopted ahead of the nominating convention, is dedicated to the “Forgotten Men and Women of America” and is strongly backed by Trump. The former president released 20 campaign promises derived from the platform, including “SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION,” “CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY,” and “END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN.”
For the first time in decades, the party has removed mentions of a 20-week national abortion ban and a constitutional amendment asserting the sanctity of life, signaling a softer stance on abortion rights. The 2024 platform references abortion only once, opposing the procedure late in pregnancy and ceding control of the issue to the states. It argues that the 14th Amendment “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,” the document reads. “We will oppose Late-Term Abortion while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments)”, told The Washington Post.
Trump has not specified when in a pregnancy he believes abortion should be outlawed but has expressed support for in vitro fertilization. He also stated he would not sign a federal abortion ban, acknowledging the unpopularity of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Despite the platform’s omission of a federal ban, the Biden campaign remains skeptical of Trump’s commitments. “Donald Trump has made it clear with his own words and actions what he will do if he regains power — rip away women’s freedoms, punish women, and ban abortion nationwide,” Biden campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a leading anti-abortion group, praised the GOP platform and Trump, interpreting the 14th Amendment mention as a potential future federal ban. “It is important that the GOP reaffirmed its commitment to protect unborn life today through the 14th Amendment,” said Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The mission of the pro-life movement, for the next six months, must be to defeat the Biden-Harris extreme abortion agenda.”
The 16-page platform also includes positions on eliminating taxes on tips, penalizing schools that deviate from teaching “America’s Founding Principles and Western Civilization,” and increasing Republican control over Washington, D.C. It does not address the national debt but vows to make Trump’s first-term corporate and income tax cuts permanent.
The new platform omits previous opposition to same-sex marriage, instead focusing on “Left-wing Gender Insanity.” It pledges to “keep men out of women’s sports, ban Taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and stop Taxpayer-funded Schools from promoting gender transition.”
Although the platform does not delve into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it pledges support for Israel and aims for peace in the Middle East. In Trump’s all-caps campaign promises, the party vows to “DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN.”