The Republicans’ Fetal Personhood Platform
By The Republican Platform is out. It’s short and designed to please Donald Trump. And pull the wool over reporters’ eyes.
ABC’s take is typical. Apparently they searched the platform for the word “abortion” and found only one occurrence.
The Republican National Committee’s platform committee adopted a new GOP platform on Monday — and it addresses the issue of abortion, marking a shift in the party’s stance to more closely align with the views of former President Donald Trump.
The platform says that Republicans “will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments),” according to the document obtained by ABC News.
The section on abortion also states that the GOP “believes” that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution “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” – bolstering Trump’s view that the issue should be determined at the state level.
Got it right past them! Let’s look at the words of the platform.
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). (emphasis mine)
If you want to believe that “no person” refers to the woman seeking an abortion, this is almost reasonable. That seems to be the way reporters are taking it, when they think about it at all. However.
If you believe that “no person” refers to everything after conception, then this describes fetal personhood. Those persons may not be deprived of life or liberty, which means no abortions ever and banning most contraceptives. Note that the last sentence says “Birth Control,” not contraceptives.
The people pushing fetal personhood have used very similar language and probably provided this paragraph.