Republicans Must Remain the Party of Life
by Emily Wood Hawley
Human rights begin at conception, not at the sign of a heartbeat at six weeks, the ever-changing point of “viability,” or whichever week of gestation a state arbitrarily recognizes a child’s humanity. Just as a preborn baby doesn’t magically gain human rights the moment he or she is deemed “viable” or passes through the birth canal, the preborn also can’t lose their intrinsic right to life by the whims of the populace or a political party.
But instead of acknowledging this biological, moral, biblical, and legal reality, the modern-day Republican Party runs from the life issue while losing its very soul.
The Democrat Party has always been on the wrong side of history when it comes to human rights — from its unyielding support of slavery to its unwavering advocacy of abortion. The GOP also shouldn’t abandon the most basic of human rights and neglect to address the gravest human rights abuse of our time to appease what they perceive to be the cultural consensus.
For half a century, Roe v. Wade was tossed around like a political football on both sides, and now that the Dobbs decision overturned Roe and affirmed no constitutional “right” to abortion, true colors were exposed as many “conservatives” explain away their “pro-life” stance with nuanced talking points and compromise.
The 2024 draft Republican platform that fails to recognize the sanctity of human life is certainly not the first time we as conservative Christians have been disappointed by the GOP’s fading morals and shifting stances on abortion — but comparing the 1984 party platform to the one released this week shows how far the party has fallen.
1984 to now: The right to life hasn’t changed
In 1984, the GOP platform recognized that “The unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed,” and supported a human life amendment to the Constitution to clarify that the “Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.”
This platform also opposed taxpayer-funded abortion and commended religious and private organizations that help pregnant mothers in need.
In stark contrast, the 2024 GOP platform refuses to take a solid stance to protect life or even acknowledge life as a “right.” It simply deflected to the will of the states and the “vote of the people,” referencing the 14th Amendment. It only pledged to oppose late-term abortion and expressed support of life-destroying procedures like in-vitro fertilization.
Contrary to what the platform states, the 14th Amendment doesn’t allow states to pick and choose who lives and who dies based solely on their stage of human development — murder is wrong in the first, second, and third trimesters.
The 14th Amendment says that no state can deny any person “life, liberty, or property” without due process and cannot deny any person “equal protection” under the law. This includes the unborn. And does the fact that opposition to late-term abortion is specifically mentioned in the platform imply abortion in the first-or second trimester is on the table?
Perhaps what is most ironic about the new GOP platform is that it was dedicated to the “Forgotten Men and Women of America” when the most forgotten in America are the voiceless, defenseless lives yet to be born, as the preborn are the most marginalized people group.
At what point between 1984 and now did the preborn lose their right to life? The obvious answer is, they didn’t. But if you compare the Reagan-era platform on life and even the 2016 platform to the 2024 draft, it is evident that the Republican Party lost its moral compass along the way and now fails to acknowledge the right to life is worth fighting for and absolute.
Human rights not up for a vote
Human rights aren’t contingent on popular vote or cultural ideologies because natural rights predate government and come from God. It is the government’s job to protect natural rights for all human beings and not squander them for cheap political points.
If we veer from protecting the most vulnerable and ensuring the first human right, we are running from the very moorings that make our nation great.
Progressivism, by definition, erodes and chips away at foundational values in the name of social justice, tolerance, equity, health care, or whichever cause is championed at the time. Conservativism, however, is meant to preserve and protect what is good, especially the foundational right to life.
Conservatives desire a more free, prosperous, safe, just, and strong America, and I believe the Republican platform lays the groundwork for achieving American greatness again. But the right to life is a non-negotiable pillar of the party that cannot be abandoned for fear of losing votes.
The Republican Party’s weak inconsistency and supposed surrender on the life issue will not end well. Once we cede ground on ideals as fundamental as the right to life just as we have already ceded ground on the sanctity of God-ordained marriage and the natural family, it’s difficult to recover.
In a decade from now, will the GOP platform on life even be recognizable if we continue down this path? Will it continue to be a watered-down version of the Democrats’ position on killing children? The promotion of death is a losing issue, and a hardline stance on the sanctity of human life is the most compassionate and morally consistent position the GOP can — and should — take.
Originally published in The Christian Post.
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