A big lesson from Milwaukee

Many pro-life activists were understandably upset at the new language proposed by the Republican Party’s platform committee for adoption at this week’s convention. The GOP’s wording offers a head nod toward the sanctity of human life but lacks the robust moral language that was a part of the platform for 40 years. Several pro-life groups petitioned the committee to reverse this decision while others signaled that they could work with the scaled-back draft. Earlier this week, the draft passed without much comment.

Much has been written about the shifting of the Republican Party into a more defensive posture on abortion, even on the part of some who were once stalwart pro-life voices. Though the political realities since the fall of Roe are complicated, we should still urge our elected officials to do all they can to enshrine the sanctity of life into law.

But there is a reason Republican politicians are being so pragmatic on the issue. Scared by the loss of abortion ballot initiatives in reliably red states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio as well as the less-than-stellar performance by the GOP in the 2022 midterm elections, political professionals running the 2024 campaign are poring over polls and trying to thread a difficult needle.

Political parties are, by necessity, a coalition of coalitions. This has always been the case in American history. Every few years, the voting maps shift. In this current moment, the Republican Party has, due to the political talent of former President Donald Trump, won over large segments of disaffected, unchurched, non-college-educated, working-class voters who either sat out elections or voted for Democrats. This has led to surprising GOP gains in Midwestern and Rust Belt states.

These voters form the core of Trump’s voting base. These are the folks who show up at rallies and enthusiastically voted for him in the primaries. Unchurched, non-college-educated, working-class voters and churched evangelicals and Christians are often lumped together, both by pundits and self-appointed prophets who confuse faithful church ladies with rallygoers who wave “Let’s go Brandon” signs. There is alignment between these two voting blocs when it comes to casting ballots in November, but there is some divergence on important issues— such as the issue of abortion.

The new non-college-educated, working-class voters will vote for pro-life candidates. Trump in 2016 ran on appointing pro-life judges and chose Mike Pence as his running mate. But this largely unchurched cohort prioritizes other issues, such as immigration and trade, whereas churchgoing evangelicals and Catholics vote Republican primarily because of social issues such as life, liberty, and family formation. This is why a state like Ohio, which overwhelmingly votes red in elections, also voted in favor of a 2023 referendum expanding abortion rights.

As a reaction, the Trump campaign has tried to soften its approach to abortion, including adjusting the platform language, opposing six-week bans in red states, and approving the abortion pill. This is reflective of the desires of his strongest voting bloc.

So how should pro-live activists react? One thing we should not do is yield to the temptation to take our ball and go home. Leaving the political process only cedes more influence to those who don’t share our pro-life convictions. Instead, we should stay and fight, urging our leaders to courageously stand up for the unborn and train them to articulate the moral language that helps Americans see human dignity in our most defenseless neighbors. Pro-life activists have always had to fight for influence in the Republican Party, whether it’s been the country club set from a generation ago who winced at the pro-life cause or today’s populists who want to whistle past Planned Parenthood.

We should also recognize reality and adjust our outreach. The pro-life cause has been primarily focused on winning over those to the left of us. This moral witness should continue, but we should recognize that there are many to the right of us who do not yet understand that the baby in the womb is a human being worthy of the promises of America’s founding documents.

What’s more, we must understand that politics is the art of the possible. Pro-life activists cannot back off of the moral imperative to end abortion. Yet we should be willing to do what we can when we can to save as many babies from death as possible. One day America will look back on our abortion-on-demand regime as a shameful moment in history. Until then, we pray and work for a culture of life.

This means resisting calls from our coalition to water down our ethical instincts, recognizing political realities, and joyfully educating our neighbors, whether they bear rainbow flags or red hats.