RNC Endorses Fetal Rights Platform, Threatens Abortion and IVF Accessibility

This article was originally published by The 19th.

The Republican Party has officially adopted a new “Make America Great Again!” policy platform ahead of its national convention. This platform does not call for a federal ban on abortion but supports states in establishing fetal personhood through the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which grants equal protection under the law to all American citizens.

If established by legislation, fetal personhood would effectively prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Its impact could extend nationally if courts uphold state-level laws that apply the 14th Amendment to fetuses.

Released prior to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week, the platform emphasizes a states-centered approach to reproductive rights, including abortion. “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,” the document states.

The 16-page document, approved by the Republican convention platform committee and circulated by Trump’s campaign, mentions the party’s opposition to “Late Term Abortion” while supporting policies that enhance prenatal care, access to birth control, and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The platform does not advocate for a national legislative abortion ban or set gestational limits. By extending 14th Amendment rights to fetuses, it follows a strategy favored by the anti-abortion movement to achieve fetal personhood.

Fetal personhood poses potential conflict with IVF, which involves creating embryos outside the uterus for later implantation. The platform supports prenatal care, birth control, and IVF but does not address the compatibility issue between supporting IVF and promoting fetal personhood.

Kristan Hawkins from Students for Life Action called the inclusion of the 14th Amendment language “the most significant contribution” toward ending abortion in the platform.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, also praised the mention of the 14th Amendment, emphasizing its role in potentially establishing national abortion restrictions. “Under this amendment, it is Congress that enacts and enforces its provisions,” she noted, affirming the Republican Party’s strong pro-life stance at the national level.

The platform does not reference the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-obscenity law still on the books that bans mailing articles designed to produce abortion. Given that over 60% of U.S. abortions are medication-based, restricting access to these drugs has become a critical focus for the anti-abortion movement since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the federal right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed a case against the FDA over the abortion pill mifepristone brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. Although the case was dismissed on standing grounds, the issue could reappear before the high court.

The RNC platform follows a prolonged GOP debate over abortion policies. Public opinion polls show most Americans opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, with abortion rights supporters more likely to consider it a voting issue.

Donald Trump, the party’s presumed nominee, has been cautious about endorsing a national abortion ban publicly, even as he takes credit for Roe’s overturning. He has not addressed the Comstock Act specifically, though it appears in Project 2025, a policy blueprint from his former advisers at the Heritage Foundation.