A version of the following was originally posted July 16, 2024, on the blog of Edward Mechmann “Stepping Out of the Boat.” It is reprinted with permission.

How far the Republican Party has fallen since Ronald Reagan wrote the magnificent pro-life manifesto Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation! The party now has two nominees who are functionally pro-choice, and the incoherent platform has betrayed the unborn in the interests of electoral exigencies.

When the party was founded in the 1850s, it rested in an unconditional adherence to the basic principle from the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men.”

Their adamant moral opposition to slavery was tempered by political pragmatism, for example over the question of outright abolition versus limitation and restriction. But they never flinched from the moral principle, that, as Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.“

 The moral struggle for true human equality always transcends the particular political situation that presents itself. As Lincoln also said:

“It is the eternal struggle between these two principles—right and wrong—throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever continue to struggle.”

 That last comment was made by Lincoln in one of his famous debates with Stephen Douglas, who was the great proponent of the principle of “popular sovereignty” when it came to slavery. In other words, he was “pro-choice” about slavery—the moral issue didn’t really matter to him, as long as states voted one way or another about it.

Lincoln and the Republicans rejected the notion of “popular sovereignty” and never ceased to make the moral argument against slavery, even as they struggled with political realities.

Now consider the current Republican platform and candidates.

Here is what the current Republican Party platform says:

Republicans Will Protect and Defend a Vote of the People, from within the States, on the Issue of Life

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).

This is the first time in decades that the Republican platform failed to condemn abortion as a violation of the founding principles of our nation. There is no mention of support for a Human Life Amendment to the federal Constitution, and no call for such pro-life measures as bans on federal funding for elective abortions and sex-selection abortions, as well as protections for children born alive during an abortion. There is nothing about the critical issue of restricting chemical abortion drugs, which is the preferred method of killing unborn children early in pregnancy. There isn’t even a comment about the desirability of banning or limiting early abortions.

It is also incoherent to hold up the guarantee of due process of law for the protection of the right to life and simultaneously say merely that states “may” choose to enforce that right—and stand aside while states choose to legalize abortion on demand throughout pregnancy. Either you believe in the inalienable right to life, or you think it’s negotiable. You can’t have it both ways.

Contrast this with the unequivocal moral condemnation of abortion in the 2016 Republican platform:

The Constitution’s guarantee that no one can “be deprived of life, liberty or property” deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “all” are “endowed by their Creator” with the inalienable right to life. Accordingly, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.

 The 2016 platform then laid out an extensive pro-life agenda that would be pursued at the federal level. Many specifics were included about funding cuts, the appointment of judges, banning the sale of fetal tissue, etc. It strongly denounced the Democratic extremism on abortion.

All of these were omitted from the 2024 platform. Indeed, there is nothing in the 2024 platform that would commit the federal government to doing anything to restrict abortion.

The new platform is the creation of the presidential nominee, who has insisted on the “popular sovereignty” position of leaving abortion to the states to decide. His vice-presidential nominee has previously espoused solid pro-life positions. But he appears to have trimmed his sails to match the party’s new pro-choice position, even to the point of endorsing the availability of abortion drugs.

Many pro-lifers will nevertheless choose to vote for this ticket, and thus this platform, in order to stop the pro-abortion extremism of the current administration. Many hope that electing the Republicans will result in pro-life people filling important policy-making positions and enacting important limits on abortion. Those are reasonable positions.

Others, like myself, believe that there are alternatives to the binary Republican/Democrat model. The American Solidarity Party, for example, is a firm believer in the fundamental right to life. Voting for principle is a legitimate way to try to hold the major parties accountable.

There certainly is an important point in being prudent about what is feasible in the current political climate. But there should be no doubt about what the Republican ticket and platform are doing. There is no excuse in their abandoning the foundational principles of the pro-life movement—and those of their own party.

[A reminder that this blog expresses my personal opinions only, and is not in any way an official statement of the Archdiocese of New York.]