Why won’t Republicans talk about abortion at their convention?
Republicans are barely mentioning abortion at their national convention – but among South Carolina delegates, it remains a volatile issue.
The party platform says abortion is a matter for states to decide, and the delegates McClatchy reporters have spoken with this week agree with that position.
“This is the proper approach,” said Julie Baker, a cybersecurity expert from Clemson.
But delegates also report hearing from being back home that the platform wasn’t tough enough.
South Carolina state Rep. John McCravy, R-Greenwood, for example, said the platform failed to mention that life begins at conception, among a few other things, which was disappointing for him and others.
”I was mildly disappointed in it. Certainly, I think that the platform was more of a campaign statement than it was a serious philosophical debate product ... like it has been in the past. Certainly I think it could have been stronger on life,” McCravy said.
“My perception is that the platform is meant to address what the nation is feeling,” said Becky McLaughlin, a Spartanburg retiree.
“Let our South Carolina legislature hash it out. We are Southerners. That’s the way it should be,” said Mary Ann Taylor, a retired teacher from Charleston.
Rep. McCravy was a stark defender for anti-abortion legislation, and the fetal heartbeat act which passed in South Carolina nearly a year ago. He is known for his views on defending life and has repeatedly said he would pass a complete abortion ban if South Carolina could rally the support.
A majority of the South Carolina House and Senate supported the fetal heartbeat bill and is overwhelmingly Republican in both chambers. Three Republican women who opposed the state’s abortion ban were ousted in June primaries.
The party platform is in line with presidential nominee Donald Trump’s wishes, and few of the speeches this week talk about the issue. While fierce opposition to abortion has been rhetorical and policy staple of GOP conventions since 1980 this year speakers barely mention it.
The state delegation, though, heard about the topic Thursday at a breakfast.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., talked at some length about abortion, notably how he’s trying to stop wide distribution of the abortion pill.
He told McClatchy later that “the abortion pill will destroy every pro-life law in the country.”
Last month the Supreme Court rejected a bit to restrict the use of the abortion drug mifepristone, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
“We can’t have the FDA negate state laws … whether you agree with abortion or not you don’t want the FDA to override state law,” Graham said.
Cindy Costa, committeewoman of the South Carolina Republican Party, said she doesn’t feel that Republicans have been conflicted about their abortion stance.
McCravy was not only disappointed in the platform’s stance on abortion, but also that marriage should be between “a man and a woman,” he said.
The party abandoned it’s long standing ideal surrounding same-sex marriage in the platform. McCravy said he thinks the platform was engineered by some mid-level staffers, that replaced some old delegates with new ones.
“Donald Trump is nothing if he’s not a pragmatist, and he sees this as the way, his people see this as a way to pragmatically get elected,” McCravy said. “Those people who are on the fence those those independents, those suburban women, and they want this platform to appeal to them. So I think it’s, I think it’s a strategy. Obviously, it’s a political strategy.”
Republicans cut the party platform from a 66-page document to 16-pages. In a memo, Trump’s campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles sent a memo calling for the party to keep the platform short so that its material couldn’t be used “as a weapon” by Democrats.
Vicki Ringer, director of public affairs at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said their platform is “a piece of paper.” The lack of attention on abortion is proof that the party knows it’s a loosing issue, Ringer said.
“However, Project 2025 makes very clear that the push will be for national abortion ban,” Ringer said. “Make no mistake, that banning abortion nationally, is the goal and aim of the entire Republican Party. And if it’s not, any candidate, any elected who steps out of line on that, will quickly be defeated, as we’ve seen right here in South Carolina.”
Ringer said the drawback on abortion is coming from Trump, because first they have to win. She said it’s a strategy, that they can’t talk about banning it now, win first and then talk about it, Ringer said is their strategy.
“It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors, and it’s a lot of deception. But I think voters will largely see through that,” Ringer said. “They may hide their abortion status or opinions online and in their speeches and answers to reporters in order to soften the blow and be more appealing to a cross section of voters, but once they’re elected they’re all in on taking away those basic fundamental rights to make your own medical decisions.”
Cindy Costa, South Carolina Republican national committeewoman, said the abortion was taken out of the platform “to soften the edges for people that feel like that’s just a bridge too far.”
“That will help them to come over and be with us,” Costa said. “It’s all about that calculation to try and win as many hearts and minds so that you can have the opportunity to lead. You can’t lead if you don’t win.”
But make no mistake, she said: “I think we’re a solidly pro-life party.”
Danielle Battaglia of the (Raleigh) News & Observer Washington Bureau contributed
This story was originally published July 19, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
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