Democrat wins Alabama swing seat by 25% amid controversy over abortion and IVF

A Democratic candidate won a swing seat in the Alabama state house by a whopping 25% margin in a race dominated by the controversy over Republican efforts to ban abortion and in-vitro fertilization.

Marilyn Lands, who campaigned on a strongly pro-choice platform, won a special election to fill the suburban Huntsville 10th District, turning around a race that she lost by about 7% in 2022.

The surprising win came amid widespread concern even in deep-red Alabama about the state’s anti-abortion push, which led the state’s Supreme Court to recently issue a ruling that effectively banned IVF in the state.

The election result won’t shift the partisan balance in ruby-red Alabama, where Republicans still hold supermajorities in both state houses as well as every statewide elected office. Former President Donald Trump romped over President Biden by a 25% margin across the state.

But the result suggests that Democrats are likely to continue amplifying concern over threats to reproductive rights, including abortion medication, IVF, and even contraception, to big gains among suburban women, moderate and independent voters.

Pro-choice candidates and Democrats have enjoyed a big edge over Republican abortion opponents for two years now since the U.S. Supreme Court unexpectedly overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

The anti-abortion ruling opened the door for most Republican-run states to ban nearly all abortions, sparking outrage among the more than 60% of Americans who believe abortion should mostly be legal.

Pro-choice referendums swept to victories in even red states like Kansas and Ohio, while many political pundits credit the issue with helping Democrats avert a much-hyped red wave in the 2022 midterms.

In Alabama, pro-life voters passed a state constitutional amendment declaring that life starts at conception.

The measure was intended to permanently ban all abortions in the state. But it also cast a long shadow over IVF, which involves fertilizing many of a woman’s eggs and discarding most of them.

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