A pro-choice and a pro-life delegate, working with pro-choice and pro-life organizations, worked out an amendment to the “summary and call to action” part of the platform. Instead of saying that Republicans “recognize” disagreements on many issues and commit to civil discussion, Republicans will now “respect and accept” these disagreements. But abortion, same-sex marriage, and other issues will not be mentioned as specific causes of disagreement. The amendment doesn’t, to my mind, change much, but I guess the sponsors thought that the way it was offered would be a useful show of unity.
Speaking of unity, the abortion section of the platform passed a little bit before this amendment, with no attempt at a challenge. Next up is the section of the platform that covers (among other things) stem-cell research and immigration. But really, people, if you’re watching this on tv, flip the channel.