Donald Trump betrays conservative Christians on life

If the Republicans actually believe that abortion is the unjust termination of human life, then they support something infinitely worse than Jim Crow.

Republicans were spooked after the 2022 mid-term elections. While they did pick up seats, it was not nearly the "red wave" it should have been, and the MAGA wing of the party blamed pro-life policies for the failure. Donald Trump was one of the leading voices blaming pro-lifers for the loss. (Trump, of course, could not admit that fielding low-quality candidates who were obsessed with denying the 2020 election contributed to the defeat.) It was inevitable, then, that the Republican Party would betray pro-life voters if Trump won the nomination again.

With that, here is the "pro-life" plank of the Republican Party's 2024 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).

MAGA people love to talk about "knowing what time it is," but this platform clearly shows that they have no idea what time it is. We are in a time where Democrats are openly pushing to codify Roe v. Wade as law nationwide, and Republicans have no response to that. They have abandoned abortion as a national issue. At the very least, Republicans could have said they will oppose all efforts by Democrats to re-nationalize the issue, but they could not even summon the courage to do that. So much for "at least he fights."

The reference to the Fourteenth Amendment makes no sense and contradicts itself. If the Constitution guarantees that no person can be denied life or liberty without due process of law, then we cannot leave it to the states to determine if basic human rights are protected any more than we could leave it to the states to determine if Blacks had equal rights under the law in the 1950's and 1960's. If the Republicans actually believe that abortion is the unjust termination of human life, then they support something infinitely worse than Jim Crow.

Republicans oppose late term abortion. Well, whoop de diddly do. Late-term abortions are a tiny percentage of all abortions. The Pew Research Center points out that "In 2021, 93% of abortions occurred during the first trimester – that is, at or before 13 weeks of gestation, according to the CDC." This is not to deny that late-term abortions are heinous, but statistically speaking ending late-term abortions would do almost nothing to protect life. Also, will Republicans actually propose legislation to ban late-term abortion at the federal level?

Surgical abortions have been declining, and abortion is moving toward pharmacies instead of abortion clinics. This is because much of what we refer to as "birth control" is actually chemical abortion - either preventing implantation of the newly created life or causing a very early chemically-induced miscarriage. JD Vance, campaigning to be Trump's Vice President, said that he supports accessibility of mifepristone - a drug that is designed only to cause an abortion. Openly supporting access to birth control shows that MAGA Republicans, despite their protests, do not actually "know what time it is."

Republicans also abandoned babies discarded (murdered) in the process of in-vitro fertilization. Unlike with abortion, there is no argument for "my body, my choice" with in-vitro fertilization. Republicans abandoned their principles for the votes and donations of wealthy White suburban women who want to use IVF to have babies. IVF should be a much easier issue than chemical abortion, because there is no concern about an overbearing state policing drugs or monitoring the mail. What happened to Republicans supporting adoption?

Finally, do we really believe that the national Republican Party and Donald Trump will stand behind "states rights" on the issue of abortion? Trump said that what Ron DeSantis did by signing pro-legislation in Florida was "terrible." Trump threw his own running mate under the bus in 2016 with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, so Republicans who think Trump will support state level restrictions or bans on abortion are deluded.

Donald Trump has never been pro-life. When his interests aligned with the pro-life movement, he supported pro-life policy. When those interests are not aligned, we get a watered-down platform. It is certainly possible for pro-life voters to support Trump in good conscience, especially given the alternative. But they should do that with their eyes wide open, understanding that Trump has always been a transactional politician.