Nearly half a century ago, when the Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade, Republican officials were quick to take the anti-abortion side of the issue. They knew they couldn't do anything about it, but it gave them the opportunity to solidify the votes of anti-abortion voters in their corner.
They claimed it was a moral principle to oppose abortion, because a human was created at the moment of conception - that meant abortion was killing a "person".
But an unexpected thing happened. A Republican president was installed in the White House, and he was able to appoint several Supreme Court justices. These new justices, combined with some right-wingers already on the court, overturned Roe v. Wade.
That's when big troubles began for Republican candidates. They had not thought their stance through or realized how it would affect their party.
It turns out that the people they made happy by banning abortion were just a minority. Most Americans were happy with the Roe v. Wade decision and wanted to keep abortion legal. They believed abortion was a women's rights issue, and banning it put many women in danger medically.
Republicans were expecting a huge red wave in the 2022 election, but it didn't happen. Many Republicans were defeated because of the party's anti-abortion views. And several red states held votes on propositions that would legalize abortion, and those propositions won every time!
Then it got worse. The Alabama Supreme Court, acting on the GOP belief that life began at conception, riled that embryos in an IVF clinic could not be destroyed (even though they would never be implanted or born). That cast a chill on IVF, and many clinics stopped offering the procedure. The procedure is extremely popular with the public.
Now, facing another election where they stand opposed to abortion (and thereby IVF), many GOP candidates are either changing or trying to hide their views. It seems their "moral principle" is no longer valid when it threatens their election to office.
Many are now trying to find a middle ground, offering abortions legal until 6, 15, or 16 weeks. That makes no sense. Life either begins at conception or at birth (or viability), but it is not something that happens on a sliding scale of a certain number of weeks. They are now trying to compromise on an issue they once claimed could not be compromised.
It's one more principle that GOP candidates have abandoned. They are left with only two "principles" - more tax cuts for the rich and whatever Donald Trump wants. It's pathetic!