Former Vice President Mike Pence’s group Advancing American Freedom (AAF), along with multiple religious leaders and pro-life advocates, said they are disappointed with what they describe as watered-down language on abortion in the 2024 Republican platform. AAF, religious leaders, and pro-life advocates sent a letter to party delegates on Friday, asking them to “restore the Republican Party’s strong pro-life platform.”

The letter, first reported on by The Daily Caller, was written in response to the draft of the RNC’s 2024 platform, which was released on Monday. The new GOP platform focuses on securing the border, deporting illegal immigrants, and ending inflation, among a list of other priorities, but makes a noticeable change in its language compared to the last version regarding abortion, an issue that Democrats have successfully campaigned on since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022.

“We proudly stand for families and Life. 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 draft of the new platform states. “After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).”

The 2016 RNC platform called for specific federal policy positions on abortion, such as “not fund[ing] or subsidize[ing] healthcare that includes abortion coverage” and calling on Congress to pass pro-life legislation. The GOP kept the same platform for the 2020 election.

In response to the new RNC platform, AAF, which was founded by Pence in 2021, wrote, “For the first time in decades, the Republican Platform retreats on life. Pro-life Americans are rightly outraged and gravely concerned. As drafted, the platform removes long-standing Republican promises on life, from prohibiting taxpayer funding for abortion to a Constitutional amendment to specific protections for unborn babies.”

“Since the Reagan Revolution, the party has spoken with an unambiguous voice – Republicans stand for life. Today, that promise has been watered down and ultimately compromised,” AAF’s letter continues. “As you gather in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, the eyes of conservatives across America are upon you. As delegates, ensuring a strong platform is your responsibility. You are the grassroots conservative leaders, entrusted by the conservatives of your states, to represent their values at the national level. This is the last opportunity to restore the Republican Party’s strong pro-life platform.”

The letter was signed by March for Life Action President Jeanne Mancini, Live Action President Lila Rose, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler, Jr., Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley, and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Brent Leatherwood, among others.

Pence personally blasted the new RNC platform’s language on abortion, calling it “a profound disappointment to the millions of pro-life Republicans that have always looked to the Republican Party to stand for life.”

Much of the RNC platform parrots talking points made by former President Donald Trump throughout his 2024 campaign. Trump has spoken multiple times on the issue of abortion and has criticized conservative state laws on abortion, such as Arizona’s abortion ban and Florida’s heartbeat law. The former president continues to tout his role in the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and said abortion laws should be left up to the states.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a staunch Trump supporter who chaired the RNC platform committee, defended its language on abortion, telling The New York Post on Friday, “Of course, Republicans are a pro-life party. We are always going to be a pro-life party, and the document affirms that we are a pro-life party.”

“Roe was overturned by the Dobbs decision [in June 2022], which sends it back to the states and the people and as the platform says, the states are there to do restrictions and regulations on those practices,” Blackburn added.

GOP delegates will vote on the RNC platform at the party’s convention next week in Milwaukee.