Yes. Political parties are merely means systems not end belief systems.
The Democratic Party, for example, moved in the direction it did PRECISELY because of the expanding role women took within it. Those women just happenned to be feminists. It could, similarly, move elsewhere if pro-lifers took on a more active role within.
No. It isn’t that Republicans are a “pro-life party.” (If it were, then the prospect of it nominating a pro-choice candidate would be unthinkable let alone realistic.) Rather, a significant faction of Republicans make pro-life concerns a major factor in their voting choices. Such as I have previously outlined.
It would not be as interesting of a news item simply because there wouldn’t be as serious of consternation among some. Conflict makes for good entertainment (which news is). It sells!
Again, it is not a matter of what the “party if at its core.” Rather, it is a matter of how significant factions of voters would be disconcerted. It is a reflection about factions of individuals and groups, then, not the overall system.