Minneapolis, MN (LifeNews.com) -- The proposed Republican Party platform takes a starkly different approach to the issue of abortion compared with the platform language Democrats approved yesterday. While the Democratic Party promotes abortion without limits, the GOP retains its support for a Constitutional amendment against abortion.

A 112-page draft of the proposed platform became available to Republican Party members on Tuesday who comprise the platform committee.

That is about half the length of the current platform, which advocates a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would afford legal protection to unborn children throughout pregnancy.

The new platform contains the language of the amendment and comments approving the Supreme Court's decision last year affirming the partial-birth abortion ban as constitutional.

The draft also talks about more specific help to pregnant women who are contemplating abortion or are in difficult pregnancy situations.

It asserts "a moral obligation to assist, not to penalize, women struggling with the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy."

"We salute those who provide them alternatives, including crisis pregnancy centers, and we take pride in the tremendous increase in adoptions that has followed Republican legislative initiatives," the proposed platform states.

Meanwhile, Ann Stone, national chairwoman of Republicans for Choice, said her small group wouldn't fight the platform this year.

"This is not going to be the year that we make big changes," she told AP. "We know that we can't get major things done."

The Republican Party has supported a pro-life amendment to the Constitution since 1976, the first convention after the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Republican Party activists have continually rebuffed efforts to remove the plank from the platform and pro-abortion GOP groups calling for its removal appear out of step with most Republican voters.

Post-election polling after the 2004 presidential elections found that President Bush's pro-life stance gave him an edge over pro-abortion Sen. John Kerry.

A 2004 Wirthlin Worldwide post-election poll found that 39 percent of voters said abortion affected the way they voted for president. Twenty-four percent of those voters cast their ballots for President Bush while 15% voted for Kerry, giving Bush a 9 percent advantage on the issue of abortion.

Eight percent of voters in the Wirthlin poll indicated abortion was the "most important" issue affecting their votes and Bush won among those voters by a six to two percent margin, leading Kerry by four percentage points among the most intense abortion voters.

Most states, during the primaries, had exit polling showing a majority of Republicans take a pro-life position on abortion.

Exit Polling Shows Most States With
Pro-Life Republican Majorities

State	Pro-Life v. Pro-Abortion	Always Illegal	Mostly Illegal	Mostly Legal	Always Legal
Alabama	76-20%	32%	44%	15%	5%
Arizona	58-37%	17%	42%	25%	13%
Arkansas	80-18%	37%	43%	13%	6%
California	54-42%	19%	35%	28%	14%
Connecticut	46-50%	13%	33%	30%	20%
Florida	54-44%	18%	35%	30%	14%
Georgia	64-33%	25%	39%	24%	9%
Illinois	64-33%	26%	38%	23%	10%
Iowa	74-23%	25%	49%	16%	7%
Louisiana	75-22%	38%	37%	15%	7%
Maryland	56-42%	17%	39%	28%	14%
Massachusetts	41-56%	13%	28%	37%	19%
Missouri	74-23%	32%	43%	18%	6%
New Hampshire	45-52%	15%	30%	32%	20%
New Jersey	46-53%	16%	29%	34%	19%
New York	48-49%	14%	34%	28%	21%
Ohio	70-28%	27%	43%	22%	6%
Oklahoma	76-22%	27%	49%	17%	6%
South Carolina	71-28%	28%	43%	19%	9%
Tennessee	75-22%	33%	42%	15%	7%
Texas	68-29%	25%	44%	22%	7%
Utah	85-13%	10%	75%	10%	3%
Virginia	63-34%	25%	38%	25%	9%
Wisconsin	74-25%	27%	47%	16%	9%

 

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