Abortion rights at forefront of Democrats' closing arguments

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ speech on reproductive health rights at a rally in Houston Friday night comes as Democrats across the country are expected to focus on the issue as they make their closing arguments of the 2024 campaign.

In the two-and-a-half years since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade and the federal right to an abortion, reproductive health has become an increasingly important issue for Democrats who point to the impact of the landmark decision. Twenty-one states ban some or nearly all abortions before the point of viability, and 2024 marks the first presidential election in this landscape.

In the lead-up to the elections, some candidates say the issue resonates more with voters than during the initial backlash to the ruling, even in states that have since moved to codify protections for reproductive health in lieu of a national standard.

Laura Gillen, a Democrat challenging GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, said last week at a roundtable with House Minority Whip Katherine M. Clark, D-Mass., that in a blue state like New York, abortion may be an even stronger issue this year than it was two years ago.

“We’re seeing the legacy of what’s happening to our sisters in other states,” Gillen said. “They see, ‘Oh wow, this does impact me. My daughter wants to go to college in Texas, and if she gets raped, what’s going to happen to her?’ I think it’s really starting to resonate.”

Gillen lost to D’Esposito two years ago, when Republicans flipped several seats in New York that helped them win the House. The issue didn’t seem to resonate in the state as much as it did in others, but this year New Yorkers will consider an equal rights amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

Democrat Janelle Stelson, a former television news anchor who’s running against Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Scott Perry, said in an interview in Harrisburg, Pa., that Roe may be “bigger now than it was last cycle.”

“More people are paying attention and they’re seeing, they’re seeing the real-world implications of what can happen when this is not the law of the land,” she said. “It’s just a bridge too far. That’s what I hear right and left. Literally right and left.”

Abortion is on the ballot again this year in 10 states that allow referendums. Since 2022, the results of all seven state ballot measures related to abortion put to a direct vote have favored the side of abortion rights — even in states that simultaneously elected statewide officials who oppose abortion.

The issue could help motivate Democratic voters. In 2022, Michigan flipped both of its state legislative chambers, forming its first Democrat trifecta (where the party has the majority in both chambers as well as the governorship) since 1983. And voters also overwhelmingly approved an amendment adding reproductive freedom protections to the constitution.

Harris’ trip to Houston comes as Democrats are growing more bullish about ousting Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. Rep. Colin Allred, the Democratic challenger in that race, will appear with Harris on Friday night.

While Harris isn’t expected to win Texas, her campaign hopes to draw attention to its current six-week abortion ban and make the argument that if former President Donald Trump is elected again, he would try to similarly restrict abortion nationwide. Democrats have sought to put a spotlight on abortion restrictions in several states by highlighting the personal stories of people whose lives have been impacted by state laws passed since the fall of Roe.

The Harris campaign released a new television ad this week set to run in battleground states on broadcast and cable tying Trump to the fall of Roe.

Republican candidates have sought to be more up front on their stances on abortion this year than many were in 2022. A House GOP strategist said that doing so has helped to “deconstruct” Democrats’ attacks on the issue, so that while it still motivates Democratic base voters, swing voters know where Republicans stand on the issue.

One House GOP candidate in California’s 49th District, Matt Gunderson, said in his first ad of the cycle that he is “pro-choice” and that “abortion should be safe, legal and rare.” GOP Rep. Marc Molinaro, a freshman New Yorker in a toss-up race, ran his own ad in which he speaks directly to camera about “exactly where I stand on the important issue of reproductive care.”

“I kept my promise to oppose a national abortion ban,” Molinaro said, while also noting his support for IVF and access to birth control.

Their efforts haven’t stopped Democrats from attacking those candidates on abortion though. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC released an ad saying that Gunderson is “lying” and that he’s “supported by extremists who want a total abortion ban.”

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