As AFN has reported, missing from the Republican National Committee's (RNC) newly adopted party platform are support for a human life amendment to the Constitution and a commitment to endorse legislation that would clarify that 14th Amendment protections apply to unborn children.
"We proudly stand for families and Life," chapter nine of the platform states. "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 since 1984 the platform has not called for a national ban on abortion.
Dr. Richard Land, president emeritus of Southern Evangelical Seminary, says the pragmatic change is meant to help the party appeal to moderates.
"They want the platform modified to say that the issue should be left to the states, which is a retreat from a call for a national ban," he notes. "It is politically unsurprising. It is philosophically disappointing."
Recalling that Trump governed as a pro-life president in his first term, Land hopes he will do so again if he is re-elected this fall.
Dr. Alex McFarland, however, submits the party is treading dangerously close to the precipice.
"To even placate the abortion lobby, that will be disastrous," he warns. "Alienate the largest, most dependable voting bloc in America, and it will not bode well for the candidates you're trying to elect and place."
And while he does not think it will come to it, he is ready to get off the "Trump Train" if he feels the former president is turning his back on the unborn.
"I would rather lose elections and retain my moral integrity than to compromise moral truth, pragmatically, to try to win elections," Dr. McFarland states.
Tony Perkins thinks it is too early to predict how most pro-life voters will respond to the new platform, but 59% of Trump voters in 2016 said the Republican Party's strong positions on life and religious liberty impacted their vote.
