The people have spoken and they want to protect abortion access.
When five Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, they decided states should determine abortion laws. And many states have decided to preserve abortion rights. In 2022, six states introduced abortion ballot measures. The three that protect abortion rights passed and the three that would have restricted them failed. Many states defended abortion this November. In Ohio, voters enshrined the right to “make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” in a ballot measure that passed with 57 percent approval. In Virginia, Democrats retained control of the state House and Senate, stopping a 15-week abortion ban proposed by Republican governor Glenn Youngkin. source? Pennsylvania elected a pro-choice Supreme Court Justice and Kentucky reelected Democrat and pro-choice governor Andy Beshear.
Since 1970, there have been 54 abortion ballot measures, 80 percent of which were presented by pro-life orgs in an effort to ban abortion. In almost every case, the bans were rejected. Historically, people have wanted to preserve abortion rights.
Republicans are aware that they are losing support for an abortion ban, but they have struggled to find an effective plan to regain it. Some politicians believe the solution is to be more vocal about restrictions but others argue that ignoring abortion when campaigning distracts voters and allows Republicans to subtly push legislation. Historically, neither of these have worked very well. Another problem Republicans face is the disagreement over regulation specifics — for example, the number of weeks abortion is legal and other technicalities. The lack of a unified response is a big setback because it creates infighting among politicians and confusion among voters. Many pro-choice groups and researchers think it’s impossible for Republicans to win support because they are so connected to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Moreover, polls show that campaigning on limiting abortion access alienates moderate voters.
Polls show that only a couple states, like Wyoming and Alabama, would vote against abortion rights. Even polls in Texas show support for reinstating abortion rights. Another approach Republicans have taken is changing regulations for ballot measures to make them harder to propose and pass. In 2022 the Ohio GOP tried to raise the threshold for constitutional amendment support from 50 percent to 60, knowing that they would lose with a majority. However, this was unsuccessful.
Is running on preserving abortion rights enough to secure Democrats the presidential election? Probably not. While abortion rights are winning, they are more popular than the Democratic party, meaning that some people who want to preserve abortion access still don’t want a Democratic representative or president. Securing abortion rights is important to voters but not a convincing factor, so Democrats have to work hard to maintain their message and get voters to come out to the polls.
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