The botched assassination attempt on Donald Trump could well generate a wave of sympathy that helps waft him into the White House in November. Another indirect result of those same events may contribute further to this effect. Until the Republican National Convention opened in Milwaukee this week, the GOP had a potentially awkward problem over its stance on abortion rights. Following the attempt on Trump’s life, this has now disappeared.
The abandonment of the old hard-line position removes an intellectual difficulty for the Republicans
Since the right-leaning Supreme Court a couple of years ago overturned Roe v Wade, suppressed the judge-made constitutional right to abortion that had existed since 1973 and told state legislatures that matters now lay entirely in their hands, the party has been split. Many Republicans, probably the majority, were happy to say ‘Job done’ and turn to other things. Following hints from Trump, this live-and-let-live line was taken up by the committee of something over 100 people that draws up the party’s official platform.
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