News | Abortion Debate Continues, Challenging U.S. Republican Election Strategy
Abortion Debate Continues, Challenging U.S. Republican Election Strategy
For years, Republicans made overturning abortion rights central to their campaigns. Now, as they try to balance a base seeking tighter reproductive health restrictions with a moderate majority that does not support those measures, many Republicans would rather avoid the subject. Yet they cannot escape the abortion debate entirely.
The high point for opponents of abortion—the Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade—effectively became a low point in public support. According to the latest Gallup poll, more U.S. adults identify as "pro-choice" (54%) than "pro-life" (41%).
Public opinion is shifting even as some conservatives seek restrictions on contraception and fertility treatment. KFF's latest survey of women voters found that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to consider abortion the most important issue in their presidential vote, reversing the pattern of recent years. One in five women under 30 and 13% of women under 50 consider it the top issue. Among independent voters, 81% believe abortion should be legal.
Democrats are counting on the issue to mobilize voters and secure President Joe Biden's reelection despite dissatisfaction with his leadership. Abortion could be especially disruptive in battleground states such as Arizona and Nevada, where votes are expected on protecting abortion rights in state constitutions.
In states where such votes may occur, 80% of Democratic women said they were "absolutely certain" to vote and were more likely to support Biden than Democratic women in other states.
So far, voters supporting abortion rights have prevailed in ballot measures in seven states, including Kansas, Ohio, and Kentucky, where Republicans control the legislatures. KFF found that about two-thirds of Arizona women support the proposed Abortion Rights Initiative, including 68% of independents.
On the campaign trail, Republicans have tried to avoid the subject and sometimes distance themselves from their previous positions. Former President Donald Trump has changed his stance several times since calling himself "pro-choice" in 1999. At a recent closed-door congressional meeting, he urged lawmakers not to avoid the issue but also supported exceptions to bans, including to protect a pregnant woman's life.
In pivotal Arizona, Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake supported a near-total abortion ban during her gubernatorial campaign two years ago but recently said that "a complete ban on abortion is not supported by public opinion." In Nevada, Republican Senate nominee Sam Brown recently said he would respect the state's permissive abortion laws and would not support a nationwide ban if elected.
The Supreme Court has helped keep the issue prominent. In a June 27 decision, the Court preserved access to emergency abortions in Idaho, although the nationwide question remains unresolved. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the majority in an unusual ruling that returned the case to a lower court, noting that it had been accepted too early and criticizing her colleagues for delaying resolution of the issue.
KFF found that an overwhelming majority of women voters (86%), including 79% of Republican women, support protecting abortion access in pregnancy-related emergencies.
In mid-June, the Supreme Court declined to overturn the FDA's 24-year-old approval of the abortion medication mifepristone, but only on technical grounds. By not deciding the merits, the justices left open the possibility that different plaintiffs could produce a different outcome. Efforts to redefine reproductive health after Roe v. Wade continue. The influential evangelical Southern Baptist Convention recently called for major legislative restrictions on in vitro fertilization (IVF), arguing that the practice conflicts with members' belief that life begins at fertilization.
Anti-abortion groups have urged Trump not to abandon a central element of Republican presidential platforms since 1976: a federal abortion ban. Trump recently said states should decide whether to restrict abortion.
Democrats and allied groups are exploiting Republican discomfort with the issue. On the day Senate Democrats sought legislation protecting a federal right to contraception, a group called Americans for Contraception floated a giant IUD-shaped balloon near Congress. As expected, Republicans blocked the bill, something Democrats will undoubtedly remind voters of frequently this year.
A week later, Senate Democrats introduced a bill to protect access to IVF, and Republicans also voted against it. There was no giant balloon this time, but Democrats are still using the issue.
Republicans still appear to be trying to avoid responsibility for the unpopularity of their reproductive health positions, at least by emphasizing other issues voters may care more about, especially the economy. They are unlikely, however, to keep the subject out of the news.
News | Abortion Debate Continues, Challenging U.S. Republican Election Strategy
News | Abortion Debate Continues, Challenging U.S. Republican Election Strategy
Abortion Debate Continues, Challenging U.S. Republican Election Strategy
For years, Republicans made overturning abortion rights central to their campaigns. Now, as they try to balance a base seeking tighter reproductive health restrictions with a moderate majority that does not support those measures, many Republicans would rather avoid the subject. Yet they cannot escape the abortion debate entirely.
The high point for opponents of abortion—the Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade—effectively became a low point in public support. According to the latest Gallup poll, more U.S. adults identify as "pro-choice" (54%) than "pro-life" (41%).
Public opinion is shifting even as some conservatives seek restrictions on contraception and fertility treatment. KFF's latest survey of women voters found that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to consider abortion the most important issue in their presidential vote, reversing the pattern of recent years. One in five women under 30 and 13% of women under 50 consider it the top issue. Among independent voters, 81% believe abortion should be legal.
Democrats are counting on the issue to mobilize voters and secure President Joe Biden's reelection despite dissatisfaction with his leadership. Abortion could be especially disruptive in battleground states such as Arizona and Nevada, where votes are expected on protecting abortion rights in state constitutions.
In states where such votes may occur, 80% of Democratic women said they were "absolutely certain" to vote and were more likely to support Biden than Democratic women in other states.
So far, voters supporting abortion rights have prevailed in ballot measures in seven states, including Kansas, Ohio, and Kentucky, where Republicans control the legislatures. KFF found that about two-thirds of Arizona women support the proposed Abortion Rights Initiative, including 68% of independents.
On the campaign trail, Republicans have tried to avoid the subject and sometimes distance themselves from their previous positions. Former President Donald Trump has changed his stance several times since calling himself "pro-choice" in 1999. At a recent closed-door congressional meeting, he urged lawmakers not to avoid the issue but also supported exceptions to bans, including to protect a pregnant woman's life.
In pivotal Arizona, Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake supported a near-total abortion ban during her gubernatorial campaign two years ago but recently said that "a complete ban on abortion is not supported by public opinion." In Nevada, Republican Senate nominee Sam Brown recently said he would respect the state's permissive abortion laws and would not support a nationwide ban if elected.
The Supreme Court has helped keep the issue prominent. In a June 27 decision, the Court preserved access to emergency abortions in Idaho, although the nationwide question remains unresolved. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the majority in an unusual ruling that returned the case to a lower court, noting that it had been accepted too early and criticizing her colleagues for delaying resolution of the issue.
KFF found that an overwhelming majority of women voters (86%), including 79% of Republican women, support protecting abortion access in pregnancy-related emergencies.
In mid-June, the Supreme Court declined to overturn the FDA's 24-year-old approval of the abortion medication mifepristone, but only on technical grounds. By not deciding the merits, the justices left open the possibility that different plaintiffs could produce a different outcome. Efforts to redefine reproductive health after Roe v. Wade continue. The influential evangelical Southern Baptist Convention recently called for major legislative restrictions on in vitro fertilization (IVF), arguing that the practice conflicts with members' belief that life begins at fertilization.
Anti-abortion groups have urged Trump not to abandon a central element of Republican presidential platforms since 1976: a federal abortion ban. Trump recently said states should decide whether to restrict abortion.
Democrats and allied groups are exploiting Republican discomfort with the issue. On the day Senate Democrats sought legislation protecting a federal right to contraception, a group called Americans for Contraception floated a giant IUD-shaped balloon near Congress. As expected, Republicans blocked the bill, something Democrats will undoubtedly remind voters of frequently this year.
A week later, Senate Democrats introduced a bill to protect access to IVF, and Republicans also voted against it. There was no giant balloon this time, but Democrats are still using the issue.
Republicans still appear to be trying to avoid responsibility for the unpopularity of their reproductive health positions, at least by emphasizing other issues voters may care more about, especially the economy. They are unlikely, however, to keep the subject out of the news.
Story source:
Collected online