Here’s why abortion nearly won on election day but wasn’t a priority

Here’s why abortion nearly won on election day but wasn’t a priority

Written by Kelly Barden

For reproductive health care advocates, there is a clear contradiction at the heart of the 2024 election. Most pro-abortion ballot initiatives passed; and The American people re-elected a president who was responsible for the subversion. Roe vs. Wade Through the appointment of Supreme Court justices.

How can we reconcile this contradiction? In many ways, the results reflect the complex dynamics of the post.egg America.

It’s been two and a half years since the Supreme Court stripped away the federal constitutional right to abortion. Dobbs The decision changed the legal landscape, with 13 states now banning abortion completely and many others banning abortion at various points during pregnancy. egg. As the scientific evidence foretold, the results were dire. These include the documented tragic deaths of at least four women, the denial of care to women experiencing pregnancy complications, and increased criminalization and surveillance of pregnant people. It will be done. At the same time, the number of abortions increased. This is likely the result of significant efforts by clinics, abortion funds, and practice support organizations to expand access to care and reduce stigma, as well as the availability of telemedicine for medication abortions. This may be the result of expanded coverage and new supportive policies in sanctuary states, such as shield laws that protect abortion. Health care providers would treat patients in other states through telemedicine and eliminate restrictions on public insurance coverage that would make abortion care more affordable.

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There are no quick fixes to escape this complex legal and policy landscape. No election can fully restore our rights. egg Standing—bringing us closer to access to true abortion for all. All that is needed to bring about deep and lasting change is steady and sustained organizing work, state by state. Voting measures have become an important tool: until June 2022 Dobbs In this decision and in November 2023, voters in all seven states that had abortion measures on the ballot voted decisively to preserve or expand abortion rights. During the November vote, the post-Dobbs The winning streak for abortion ballot measures ultimately ended, with seven new pro-abortion bills passed and three defeated. That means voters in 13 states (Montana enacted measures in 2022 and 2024) used direct democracy to express their desire for legal abortion and openly opposed legal abortion. . Dobbs decision.

These results show that voters are not only concerned about candidates (e.g., Wisconsin voters returned Trump to Washington alongside abortion rights champion Sen. Tammy Baldwin), but also regarding ballot measures on abortion rights. The results also show that voters are clearly splitting their votes with ease. About 52% of Missouri voters supported establishing a constitutional right to abortion, making Missouri the first state to clear the way to repeal the ban altogether. With the same number of votes, more than 58% of voters supported Donald Trump. Similarly, 57.8% of voters approved Montana’s abortion rights ballot measure, and 58.4% supported Trump.

This is nothing new. People often vote for or against an issue when it is directly presented to them in an independent voting method, but they may also vote for candidates with contradictory views or policies . In 2011, Mississippi voters squarely passed an anti-abortion “personhood” ballot measure that legally defines human life as beginning at conception, bans abortion, and threatens access to in vitro fertilization and some forms of contraception. refused. In the same election, anti-abortion Republicans won nearly every statewide election, along with voter ID requirements, reflecting contradictory trends in voting behavior still seen today.

These results clearly show that people support abortion, even in areas where legislators do not. If the goal is to free abortion from partisan politics, then we are making progress. But if our goals are bigger, and they should be, then we need to do more. Support for reproductive rights can be an entry point for voters to understand and ultimately embrace a broader social justice framework that puts freedom and bodily autonomy at the center of politics. Split voting on the ballot may continue, but it also broadens support for reproductive freedom and connects the dots between abortion and other issues such as economic justice and democracy. It also teaches us that we need to focus on reaching Americans in need.

Of course, rampant misinformation, disinformation, and a highly fragmented media environment (individualized algorithms have led us all to primarily consume news and views that align with our own opinions) ) creates a difficult situation for each of us when it comes to voting. A failure in basic civics education is enough to make Trump’s claim that he just wants to “return abortion to the states” be accepted as truth, or to support his blatant racism and sexism. This meant that voters could pretend to be truthful. Their support for abortion. Trump himself used this to his advantage, deliberately distancing himself from the failures of his own moves once their unpopularity became clear.

Don’t get me wrong. Abortion opponents aim to further destroy reproductive rights and access, despite clear public support for legal abortion.

These abortion bans are closely tied to unequal treatment under the law on the basis of race. Modern abortion bans support the Founding’s anti-Indigenous and pro-slavery policies by enshrining the idea that the state should control our bodies and reproduction, especially for people of color and other marginalized communities. continues the theme. And while abortion opponents continue to stoke fears of declining birth rates among whites, they specifically target blacks with the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes. Our efforts to make that clear need to be stepped up, especially for the 53 percent of white women voters who voted for Trump. We cannot celebrate the victory of the abortion vote and ignore that it is coupled with clear support for racist candidates and policies.

It may take time to untangle the many lessons of the 2024 election, but time is not on our side. Even though abortion rights are supported by most Americans, we stand on the precipice of even more destructive reproductive rights policies in the United States and around the world. . President-elect Trump is likely to further destroy reproductive rights and access. President Trump could, for example, direct federal agencies to restrict the use of the safe and legal abortion drug mifepristone, even in states that have protected and expanded abortion rights. We must remain vigilant to counter any attempts to exacerbate the abortion access crisis, while at the same time supporting abortion rights as one step on the path to freedom for all. We have to make it clear that it’s just a point.

This is an opinion and analysis article and the views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of the author. scientific american.