Where the Political Parties Stand on Social Issues in 2024

Joe Carter

This week, the Democratic Party will formally adopt their platform at the Democratic National Convention. Last month, delegates for the Republican Party did the same at their convention. The platform is a document that outlines the statement of principles and policies the party has decided to support.

Why should Christians care about a document that few non-politicians will ever read? Because of the influence the two major party platforms have on public policy. While the platform isn’t binding on the presidential nominee or any other politicians, political scientists have found that over the past 30 years, lawmakers in Congress tend to vote in line with their party platform: 89 percent of the time for Republicans and 79 percent of the time for Democrats. For this reason, we should be aware of what’s proposed in these documents and how they may affect the welfare of our nation (Jer. 29:7).

This article outlines the positions taken by the two major political parties on several social issues, as outlined in their most recent platforms. While the Democrat platform is largely similar to the one from 2020, the Republican platform has been extensively overhauled. For this reason, significant changes between the Republican’s previous platform (2012/2016) and the current one have been highlighted.

The positions of the presidential candidates and their running mates are also noted on two salient issues—abortion and LGBT+ policies.

Finally, since both the Republican and Democratic parties have officially adopted a pro-choice position, the platforms of the only two consistently pro-life parties—the American Solidarity Party and the Constitution Party—are also included for comparison.

Democratic Party Platform and Presidential Ticket

 

Harris and Walz on Abortion

Kamala Harris, the vice president, has been a vehement supporter of abortion throughout her political career.

While she was the California attorney general, Harris attempted to force pro-life pregnancy centers to advertise for abortion by “proudly” cosponsoring the Reproductive FACT Act.

Then, during her time in the U.S. Senate, Harris cosponsored 14 pieces of legislation that would expand and protect abortion rights, including the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2017 (which prohibits governmental restrictions on abortion before viability). She also voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (a bill that would establish a new criminal offense for performing or attempting to perform an abortion if the fetus is 20 weeks or more) and against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (a bill that establishes requirements for the degree of care a health-care practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion).

As Ryan Anderson has pointed out, Harris “wants to force pro-lifers to violate our consciences.” He notes that while in the Senate, she also “supported legislation that threatened religious liberty, particularly in the context of abortion,” such as the Do No Harm Act, a bill that would “narrow the Religious Freedom Restoration Act so as to withhold religious-liberty protections against abortion mandates.” Anderson also notes Harris was an original cosponsor of the Equality Act, which, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, could have forced “taxpayers to fund elective abortions” and forced “doctors and hospitals to perform abortions even if it’s against their conscience or beliefs.”

Harris continued to promote abortion while in the White House. In an amicus brief for a federal court case, the Ethics and Public Policy Center documented some ways the Biden-Harris administration promoted abortion: turning Title X into an abortion counseling and referral mandate, turning taxpayer dollars into abortion funds, turning hospital emergency rooms and VA hospitals into abortion clinics, turning the U.S. Postal Service into a delivery service for abortion drugs, turning pharmacies into abortion drug dispensaries, turning HIPAA’s privacy protections into a shield against laws regulating abortion, and turning workplace pregnancy accommodations into an abortion mandate.

Harris’s running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, has also taken significant action to promote abortion. For instance, in January 2023, he signed a bill enshrining the right to abortion into Minnesota state law, making it the first state to codify such protections after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. He later signed legislation aimed at shielding abortion providers and patients traveling to Minnesota from legal action by other states with more restrictive laws.

Under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota has also repealed restrictions like the 24-hour waiting period for abortions, passed laws to protect Minnesota health-care providers and patients from abortion-related prosecution in other states, and ensured local authorities cannot regulate individual decisions about abortion or reproductive health care.

Harris and Walz on LGBT+ Issues

Harris has established herself as a prominent advocate for LGBT+ issues. Throughout her political career, she has framed LGBT+ rights as fundamental freedoms that need protection. For instance, as California attorney general, she refused to defend Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages.

While in the Senate, she consistently backed pro-LGBT+ legislation, such as the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation.

In the Biden-Harris administration, Harris has supported several executive actions, such as ordering federal agencies to protect LGBT+ people from discrimination in housing, health care, and credit lending; reopening the military to transgender service members; expanding access to gender transitioning in federal programs and prisons; and promoting the use of gender markers on federal identification documents to reflect trans identities.

The LGBT+ activist group Human Rights Campaign says the Biden-Harris administration is “the most pro-LGBTQ+ administration in history.”

Similarly, Walz has established himself as a promoter of LGBT+ rights and issues. In 1999, as a high school teacher, he advised the school’s first gay-straight alliance. During his time in Congress, he supported the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and was an early supporter of the Respect for Marriage Act.

As governor, he has used executive action to further protect LGBT+ rights. In 2023, he issued an executive order directing state agencies to safeguard access to “gender-affirming care” for transgender people in Minnesota, including those from other states.

He has also signed several significant pieces of LGBT+ legislation. In 2023, he signed a “trans refuge” bill into law, protecting transgender people and their families from legal repercussions when traveling to Minnesota for “gender-affirming care.” He enacted a statewide ban on conversion therapy for LGBT+ children and adults and signed the PRO Act, which indirectly supports LGBT+ access to abortion.

Democratic Party Platform on Social Issues

The following information is taken from the draft version of the 2024 Democratic Party Platform. It’s expected to be officially approved during the Democratic convention.

Abortion

The language in the 2024 platform is considerably vaguer than in 2020. For example, in 2020 the party said, “Democrats believe every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health-care services, including safe and legal abortion. We oppose and will fight to overturn federal and state laws that create barriers to women’s reproductive health and rights.”

The new section in 2024 on “Reproductive Freedom” spends more time condemning the action of the Trump administration and saying what the Biden administration has done than clarifying goals for the near future.

Criminal Justice Reform

Drugs and Drug Abuse

Education

Human Trafficking

LGBT+ rights

Poverty

Racial Equality

Religious Freedom

The section on religious liberty primarily focuses on the previous actions of the Biden-Harris administration. The following are future proposals and actions:

Violence Against Women

Republican Party Platform and Presidential Ticket

 

Trump and Vance on Abortion

Since leaving office, former president Donald Trump has repeatedly said he believes states should decide for themselves whether abortion should be legal. Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, told NBC News on August 8, “As President Trump said, he wants ‘everybody to vote’ on the issue, reiterating his long-held position of supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion.”

Trump is currently a resident of the state of Florida. When asked how he would vote on Florida’s ballot initiative that would establish a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability, Trump declined to answer. However, he did say abortion isn’t a “big factor anymore.” Last year, when Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a six-week ban on abortion, Trump said, “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

In his debate with Biden, Trump said he wouldn’t block access to the abortion pill (the abortion pill now accounts for about 54 percent of all abortions). Leavitt also noted in a statement in early August that Trump wouldn’t prevent access to the abortion pill.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance, was once a staunch pro-life candidate. His Senate campaign website included an “End Abortion” heading, under which Vance praised the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and stated, “I am 100 percent pro-life, and believe that abortion has turned our society into a place where we see children as an inconvenience to be thrown away rather than a blessing to be nurtured.”

“Eliminating abortion is first and foremost about protecting the unborn,” his website said, “but it’s also about making our society more pro-child and pro-family.”

But following the announcement that he’d be Trump’s running mate, Vance scrubbed any reference to being pro-life from his website. He has since adopted Trump’s position.

“My view is that Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, and his views on abortion are going to be the views that dominate this party and drive this party forward,” Vance told Fox News’s Sean Hannity. “Alabama’s going to make a different decision from California. That is a reasonable thing. And that’s how I think we build some bridges and have some respect for one another.”

Trump and Vance on LGBT+ Issues

Trump has repeatedly expressed his support for many gay rights issues.

In 2022, he hosted a gathering of the conservative LGBT+ organization Log Cabin Republicans at Mar-a-Lago, where he declared, “We’re fighting for the gay community, and we are . . . fighting hard.” His wife recently hosted another fundraiser with that group. He also had previously said in an interview with 60 Minutes that he was “fine” with same-sex marriage.

As POLITICO notes, “The gay community . . . credited him for his initiatives to combat the criminalization of homosexuality, his work pushing for public health initiatives to combat the HIV epidemic, and for appointing the first openly gay Cabinet member, [Richard] Grenell, as director of national intelligence.”

However, Trump has been critical of transgender issues, especially those related to children. He has said that on “day one” of his new administration he would reverse Biden’s expansion of Title IX that prohibits federally funded schools from preventing transgender students from using bathrooms, locker rooms, and pronouns that align with their gender identities.

According to Forbes, he has also said he’d block doctors who provide gender-affirming care from Medicare and Medicaid, forbid federal agencies from actions to “promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age,” and task the Justice Department with investigating the medical industry to see if they “deliberately covered up horrific long-term side effects of sex transitions in order to get rich.”

While in Congress, Vance introduced the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which sought to ban the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors. Vance also unsuccessfully introduced the Passport Sanity Act the same year, which sought to prohibit the use of nonbinary markers, such as an “X” instead of an“’F” or “M,” in U.S. passport documents.

Vance said he’d vote no on the Respect for Marriage Act (a bill that codifies the right to marriage for same-sex couples) if he were in office because “the religious liberty piece of this is very bad.”

Republican Party Platform on Social Issues

Abortion

The only opposition to abortion included in the 2024 platform is to “late-term abortion.” (Although there’s no technical definition of what constitutes “late-term,” it typically refers to the 21st to 24th week of gestation, which is late in the second trimester. This is roughly 12 to 15 weeks after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.)

This is a notable downgrade from the 2016/2020 platform, which included a broad and robust range of support for pro-life issues. For example, the previous platform supported the sanctity of human life and affirmed that the “unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.” It opposed infanticide and called on Congress to pass a federal Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks, the “point at which current medical research shows that unborn babies can feel excruciating pain during abortions.” All that language has been removed.

The previous platform opposed taxpayer funding of abortion, called for a permanent ban on federal funding and subsidies for abortion and health-care plans that include abortion coverage, and opposed the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations like Planned Parenthood so long as they “provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide healthcare.” It also supported the right of parents to consent to medical treatment for their minor children and urged the enactment of legislation that would require the parents’ consent for their daughter to be transported across state lines for an abortion. All such language has been removed in the new platform.

The previous platform opposed the FDA’s approval of Mifeprex, the abortifacient formerly known as RU-486, stating this drug “threatens women’s health, as does the agency’s endorsement of over-the-counter sales of powerful contraceptives without a physician’s recommendation.” That language has been removed since both Trump and Vance have expressed support for the abortion pill (see more above).

The new platform supports state-level decision making on abortion laws following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The previous platform supported many federal provisions, including codifying the Hyde Amendment and its application across the government and cutting federal and state funding for entities that endanger women’s health by performing abortions in a manner inconsistent with federal or state law. That language was removed, as was opposition to the nonconsensual withholding of care or treatment from people with disabilities, including newborns, the elderly, and the infirm. It also supported a federal ban on sex-selection abortions and abortions based on disabilities.

Additionally, the prior platform supported state and federal efforts “against the cruelest forms of abortion, especially dismemberment abortion procedures, in which unborn babies are literally torn apart limb from limb.”

The platform previously supported a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth. The new platform merely states, “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”—without specifying whether the party believes this should apply to the unborn.

Human Cloning and Embryonic/Fetal Research

The new platform makes no mention of cloning or medical research on human subjects.

The previous platform supported a ban on human cloning for research or reproduction and a ban on the creation of, or experimentation on, human embryos for research, It supported Congress’s ban on the FDA approval of research involving three-parent embryos. It also supported a congressional ban on any sale of fetal body parts and called on Congress to ban the practice of misleading women on so-called fetal harvesting consent forms. The platform opposed embryonic stem-cell research and federal funding of such research.

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

The new platform makes no mention of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

The previous platform opposed euthanasia and assisted suicide and supported a restoration of a ban from the Drug Enforcement Administration on the use of controlled substances for physician-assisted suicide. It opposed health-care providers being permitted to “unilaterally withhold services because a patient’s life is deemed not worth living” and urged all states and Congress to make it a crime to acquire, transfer, or sell fetal tissues from elective abortions for research.

Support for Mothers

The new platform states it supports “mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care.” The previous platform also supported our “moral obligation to assist, rather than penalize, women who face an unplanned pregnancy” and legislation that requires financial responsibility for the child to be “equally borne by both the mother and father upon conception until the child reaches adulthood.”

Additionally, it supported funding for ultrasounds and adoption assistance and commended states protecting women and girls through laws requiring informed consent, parental consent, waiting periods, and clinic regulation. It condemned the Supreme Court’s “activist decision in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt striking down commonsense Texas laws providing for basic health and safety standards in abortion clinics.”

Criminal Justice Reform

All mention of criminal justice reform has been stricken from the 2024 platform.

The previous platforms supported establishing a bipartisan presidential commission to purge the code and the body of regulations of old “crimes”; adding mens rea elements in the definition of any new crimes to protect Americans who, in violating a law, act unknowingly or without criminal intent; Congress codifying the Common Law’s Rule of Lenity, which requires courts to interpret unclear statutes in favor of a defendant; mandatory prison time for all assaults involving serious injury to law enforcement officers; protecting the rights of victims and their families by allowing them to be told all relevant information about their case, to be present for its trial, to be assured a voice in sentencing and parole hearings, to be given access to social and legal services, and to benefit from the Crime Victims Fund; protecting prisoners against cruel or degrading treatment by other inmates; and having states offer opportunities for literacy and vocational education to prepare prisoners for release to the community.

Discrimination and Racial Issues

The new platform states Republicans will “enforce our Civil Rights Laws to stop schools from discriminating on the basis of Race” and “pursue Civil Rights cases against Schools that discriminate.” It also includes a section clarifying that “Republicans condemn antisemitism, and support revoking Visas of Foreign Nationals who support terrorism and jihadism. [They] will hold accountable those who perpetrate violence against Jewish people.”

The previous platform opposed “bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism, ethnic prejudice, and religious intolerance,” as well as “discrimination based on race, sex, religion, creed, disability, or national origin.” It supported statutes to end such discrimination. It added, “As the Party of Abraham Lincoln, we must continue to foster solutions to America’s difficult challenges when it comes to race relations today.”

Drugs and Drug Abuse

The previous platform supported a measure by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would ensure no physician would be penalized for limiting opioid prescriptions. It also supported the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which addresses the opioid epidemic from both the demand and supply sides of the problem. The new platform makes no mention of the opioid crisis.

Education

The new platform states that “Republicans will restore Parental Rights in Education,” whereas the previous version more broadly supported a constitutional amendment to protect parental rights “from interference by states, the federal government, or international bodies such as the United Nations.”

The new notes, “Republicans will reinstate the 1776 Commission, promote Fair and Patriotic Civics Education, and veto efforts to nationalize Civics Education. We will support schools that teach America’s Founding Principles and Western Civilization.”

The party also proposes to “close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send it back to the States, where it belongs, and let the States run our educational system as it should be run.” Additionally, it supports the “restoration of Classic Liberal Arts Education.”

The previous platforms supported states that oppose including gender identity and sexual orientation under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The new version states, “We will keep men out of women’s sports, ban Taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and stop Taxpayer-funded Schools from promoting gender transition, reverse Biden’s radical rewrite of Title IX Education Regulations, and restore protections for women and girls.”

Along with these changes, numerous other planks related to education were removed: support for school choice for all students; opposing the imposition of national educational standards and assessments; supporting state legislatures offering the Bible in a literature curriculum as an elective in America’s high schools; supporting background checks for all personnel who interact with school children; supporting options for learning, including home-schooling, career and technical education, private or parochial schools, magnet schools, charter schools, online learning, and early college high schools; supporting replacing “family planning” programs for teens with sexual risk avoidance education that sets abstinence until marriage as the responsible and respected standard of behavior; and supporting the prompt investigation by civil authorities and prosecution in a courtroom of sexual assault claims, rather than having them adjudicated in the “faculty lounge” of colleges. Those convicted of sexual assault should be punished to the full extent of the law. They had opposed school-based clinics that provide referral or counseling for abortion and contraception and believed that “federal funds should not be used in mandatory or universal mental health, psychiatric, or socio-emotional screening programs.”

Human Trafficking

The new platform states that Republicans will use Title 42 to end the child trafficking crisis by “returning all trafficked children to their families in their Home Countries immediately.”

The previous platform included support for using the full force of the law against those who engage in commercial sexual exploitation and forced or bonded labor of men, women, or children; involuntary domestic servitude; trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal; and the illegal recruitment and use of child soldiers. Additionally, it called for increased diplomatic efforts and accountability for foreign governments to prosecute traffickers; called for the need to stop slave labor by “taking steps to prevent overseas labor contractors who exploit foreign workers from supporting military bases abroad or exporting goods to the United States”; and called for working at home and abroad to “ensure that trafficking victims are identified among migrants, refugees, and our own citizens so they receive the rehabilitative care needed to heal and thrive.”

Marriage and Family Issues

The new platform states, “Republicans will promote a Culture that values the Sanctity of Marriage, the blessings of childhood, the foundational role of families, and supports working parents. We will end policies that punish families.”

A most notable change is the removal of language that supports traditional marriage and family based on one man and one woman. The previous platform stated, “Every child deserves a married mom and dad, and our laws and government regulations should actively promote married family life as the basis of a stable and prosperous society.”

The previous platform also supported the removal of marriage penalties from the tax code and public assistance programs, supported restructuring the tax code to increase adoptions and support families who adopt, and supported states’ and community groups’ attempts to help young adults who are aging out of the foster care system to become independent.

Pornography

The new platform makes no mention of pornography.

The previous platform supported states fighting against pornography and pledged a commitment to children’s safety and well-being, as well as “energetic prosecution” of child pornography, which is “closely linked to human trafficking.”

Poverty

The new platform makes no mention of poverty.

The previous platform supported the evaluation of poverty programs based on whether they actually reduce poverty and increase the personal independence of its participants; supported work requirements for poverty programs; and supported greater state and local responsibility for, and control over, public assistance programs.

Religious Liberty

The new platform says Republicans will protect the “Right not only to Worship according to the dictates of Conscience, but also to act in accordance with those Beliefs, not just in places of Worship, but in everyday life” and adds that “to protect Religious Liberty, Republicans support a new Federal Task Force on Fighting Anti-Christian Bias that will investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment, and persecution against Christians in America.” Additionally, it states that “Republicans will champion the First Amendment Right to Pray and Read the Bible in school, and stand up to those who violate the Religious Freedoms of American students.”

In contrast, the previous platform had an extensive detailed list of recommendations, including opposition to any efforts to tax religious organizations; support for the First Amendment Defense Act; support for every state to pass similar legislation to the First Amendment Defense Act; and support for the freedom of Americans to act in accordance with their religious beliefs, not only in their houses of worship but also in their everyday lives.

American Solidarity Party Platform

Below are the principles and positions of the American Solidarity Party as outlined in their 2024 platform.

Life Issues

Principle: “The American Solidarity Party believes in the intrinsic dignity of the human person from conception until natural death. We have an unwavering commitment to defend life and advocate for the legal protection of the most vulnerable members of society. We seek to ensure that all people have access to everything they need not simply to live, but to thrive.”

Party positions:

Marriage and Family

Principle: “The American Solidarity Party believes that the natural family, founded on the marriage of one man and one woman, is the fundamental unit and basis of every human society. Family breakdown is a key contributor to widespread social problems in this country. In order to promote stable families, it is in the interest of the state to support marriage recognized as the exclusive union of one man and one woman for life. At the same time, we recognize that the state must support the needs of all people—especially children, as well as the elderly and disabled— regardless of household structure.”

Party positions:

Education

Principle: “The American Solidarity Party believes that education is a right vital to the formation of the human person and the good of society. We advocate for affordable, diverse, and well-rounded educational options.”

Party positions:

Criminal Justice, Pornography, and Human Trafficking

Principle: “The American Solidarity Party believes that maintaining public peace and order is a fundamental responsibility entrusted to all levels of government. We also acknowledge that in many cases our justice system is both harsh and ineffective. Despite having the largest incarcerated population in the world, we have failed to make communities safe or address economic and racial disparities in arrests, convictions, and sentencing. We support reforms to simultaneously ensure public safety, secure individual justice, and reduce the excessively punitive nature of the system.”

Party positions:

Religious Liberty

Principle: “The American Solidarity Party recognizes that a person can have no higher authority than God, an authority which imposes duties on each person. Especially in our pluralistic society, we must take special care to respect those duties as much as possible, and provide protections for religiously-affiliated institutions and persons living out their sincerely-held beliefs.”

Anti-Discrimination and Racial Justice

Principle: “The American Solidarity Party believes that some citizens, including racial minorities, women, and the disabled, face unique historical and current challenges which can be addressed by anti-poverty programs and by re-examining our cultural biases which oppose the Biblical call to human fraternity.”

Party positions:

Constitution Party

Here are the general principles of the Constitution Party, followed by their positions, as outlined in their 2024 party platform.

The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of Almighty God, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States.

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to a political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” (from George Washington’s Farewell Address)

The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore the American system of law and justice to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its constitutional boundaries.

The U.S. Constitution established a Republic rooted in Biblical principles of governance, administered by representatives who are constitutionally elected by the citizens. In such a Republic all Life, Liberty and Property must be protected as unalienable rights from our Creator.

We support the restoration of the US Constitution according to the intentions of the Founders in drafting a document, guided by the hand of Providence, that strictly limits the lawmaking and enforcement powers of the federal government. We also sustain the Bill of Rights which has served as the strongest bulwark against usurpation of the Constitution’s limitations by activist judges. We further support all of the principles of liberty embodied in the Declaration of Independence.

We affirm:

The Constitution of the United States provides that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” We support the original intent of this language. Therefore, we call on all those who love liberty and value their inherent rights to join with us in the pursuit of these goals and in the restoration of these founding principles.

Sanctity of Life

Character and Moral Conduct

Crime

Drug Abuse

Education

Family

Gambling

Pornography, Obscenity, and Sexually Oriented Businesses

Religious Freedom

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