The Latest: At RNC, nun lauds Trump for being anti-abortion

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Washington nun who is also a surgeon and retired U.S. Army officer says, “Donald Trump is the most pro-life President that this nation has ever had.”

Sister Deirdre “Dede” Byrne of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary focused her remarks Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention on abortion.

She says the president’s “belief in the sanctity of life transcends politics.”

While Trump has fully embraced an anti-abortion agenda, some people of faith — particularly more liberal ones — point to a broader view of the “pro-life” label in criticizing some of his policy proposals as inconsistent with that interpretation. For example, Trump’s administration has slashed the refugee admissions cap for the U.S. to historic lows, while also pursuing a policy of separating migrant families at the border.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WEDNESDAY’S REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION:

— Turbulent reality collides with GOP convention plans

— RNC speech serves as farewell address for Kellyanne Conway

— Burgess Owens, a Black Republican seeking a House seat, to speak at RNC

— The Loyalist: VP Pence preserves own presidential prospects

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Follow AP’s election coverage at https://apnews.com/Election2020

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

One of President Donald Trump’s most visible and vocal supporters says her boss’s empathy for the changes in her life portray the type of world she wants for her daughter.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday night during the Republican National Convention that Trump has supported her “both as a new mom and as an American with a preexisting condition.”

McEnany underwent a preventative mastectomy in 2018 after learning she carried a genetic mutation that enhanced her chances for breast cancer.

Despite claiming he has ensured that people with preexisting medical problems will always be covered by health insurance, Trump’s administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn President Barack Obama’s health care law, which provides health insurance protections for people with preexisting medical problems.

McEnany, who has a 9-month-old child, said, “I want my daughter to grow up in President Donald Trump’s America.”

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is echoing many of her fellow Republicans’ dark portrayal of America under Democratic leadership who have spoken at the Republican National Convention this week.

But she’s doing so as she elevates her national profile with some talk of her running for president in 2024.

Noem on Wednesday night broadly cast cities governed by Democrats as “being overrun by violent mobs,” as many have before her on the two previous nights of the convention.

Noem has crept into the national conservative discussion by appearing regularly on Fox News in the past year after installing a satellite television link-up in her office in remote Pierre, South Dakota, and consulting often with former Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski.

Noem did not mention her praise of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, a position that won her praise from President Trump, as did her lifting of the ban on fireworks at Mount Rushmore where she appeared with Trump for an Independence Day weekend rally in July.

Studies have shown hydroxychloroquine isn’t effective against the virus and may even be harmful as a treatment for COVID-19.

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A speaker who had been expected to deliver remarks on the third night of the Republican National Convention has been unexpectedly removed from the program hours before airtime. Another speaker’s appearance is up in the air.

The campaign confirmed that Robert Unanue, the president and CEO of Goya Foods, will not be speaking Wednesday night, citing a “logistical problem.”

Unanue’s praise of President Donald Trump at the White House last month sparked a boycott of his company’s products.

Also unclear is the status of a speech by former professional football player Jack Brewer.

Brewer was charged with insider trading by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month. The campaign would not say definitively whether he will speak.

Organizers on Tuesday pulled another featured speaker, “Angel Mom” Mary Ann Mendoza, after she directed her Twitter followers to a series of anti-Semitic, conspiratorial messages hours before her prerecorded segment was set to air.

-- Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller