Kellyanne Conway, the former adviser to President Donald Trump, is leading the charge on a mission to overhaul the abortion strategy of the GOP and put an end to the advantage the Democrats are perceived to have in the 2024 election. The changes aim to legally restrict or overturn abortion rights for all women regardless of their socio-economic or racial background.
Conway, who worked with the Trump administration for four years and served as a senior adviser during his 2020 presidential campaign, is working closely with other policies such as “personhood” to push for a greater restriction of abortion at the federal level.
The “personhood” strategy, which is backed by some Republicans, would guarantee fertility rights of zygotes, making them legal persons from the moment of conception. This shift in policy comes at a time when the abortion debate has been simmering for decades and remains a powerful motivator to voting members of both parties.
Furthermore, Conway is pushing to use the courts to chip away at abortion access, a tactic she laid the groundwork for with her tenure in the Trump administration. Under Trump, the Justice Department went to court to defend several abortion restrictions.
The goal is to personally fight for the GOP’s anti-abortion rights platform, while simultaneously eliminating the power of the Democrats to control the abortion narrative in the imposed election of 2024. Conway’s strategy is to appeal to GOP voters by touting the idea that abortions should only be legal in cases of “rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at stake”.
This strategy has been a consistent topic of discussion among Republican lawmakers, with Conway even being featured on a panel called the “Sanctity of Life Summit” in January of 2021.
Critics of this approach have argued that it violates women’s right to bodily autonomy and autonomy over their own healthcare decisions. Conway’s strategy has also been seen by many as an attempt to further politicize the abortion issue and make it a key issue for the 2024 election.
Regardless of which side of the abortion debate you are on, it is clear that Kellyanne Conway has spearheaded an effort to completely alter the GOP’s stance on the matter and that her strategy may be seen as a major factor contributing to the Republican Party’s future success.