A Peek at Harris-Walz's Abortion Messaging

8.7.24

Click here: In Stats & Studies, new abortion #WeCount numbers are out. 2024 looks at Kamala Harris’ speech last night and what phrase was tellingly missing. Attacks on Walz continue on, and I have ideas about how to stop them. In the States, news from New York, Illinois, Georgia, Texas and more. Finally, In the Nation, the conservative war on abortion pills.

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Stats & Studies

There’s new #WeCount data out today, showing that the number of abortions went up in the first few months of 2024, a rise researchers tie to shield laws and telehealth. (Which explains why anti-abortion activists are so eager to go after both of those things—more on that at the end of the newsletter.)

Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, #WeCount Co-Chair and professor at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), says, “Telehealth abortion is making a critical difference for people seeking abortion care in this increasingly restrictive environment.” She also points out that telehealth helps cut down on overwhelm for in-person care.

What’s important to remember is that just because abortion numbers increased, it doesn’t mean that people aren’t being denied care—they are. In fact, researchers estimate that over 200,000 abortions didn’t occur because of abortion bans.

Another vital piece of data from #WeCount: Florida was one of the states with the largest average number of abortions per month at the start of 2024. That means that Florida’s 6-week abortion ban is going to have a huge impact on care across the country.

2024

Presidential nominee Kamala Harris made it official last night in Philadelphia, introducing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. And Walz didn’t disappoint: He attacked Donald Trump as a criminal who just cares about “serving himself” and gave perhaps the best line ever about his Republican opponent, JD Vance:

“I’ve got to tell you, I can’t wait to debate the guy. That is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”

I will never get tired of the couch jokes.

Today, Harris and Walz are campaigning in Wisconsin, where Trump also happens to be holding a rally. The disgraced former president is already attacking Walz as a radical leftist, calling him a “communist” on Fox News, comparing the governor to Bernie Sanders and saying, “He’s heavy into transgender.” (Whatever the fuck that means.)

Trump also hinted that he might debate Harris after all, saying the event would be announced soon while attacking her as “sort of a nasty person.” I truly can’t believe we’re right back into “nasty woman” territory. 

I understand why he’s so nervous about facing Harris, though. It’s clear that she would absolutely wipe the floor with him. In her speech last night, the Vice President attacked Trump for creating a country where 1 in 3 women live in an anti-abortion state and where some bans were created before women had the right to vote. Check out a snippet of her speech below:

What I like so much about watching Harris is that even when she’s talking about horrible shit, she’s bringing positivity to the moment. When the vice president said, for example, that “we are not going back,” she did so with a smile on her face. It may seem like a small thing, but the ability to find hope right now is so incredible important—and inspiring.

I also wanted to flag something interesting from Harris’ speech last night: She didn’t use the Biden-era phrase ‘restore Roe.’ Instead, she said that under her presidency we will “restore reproductive freedom.” That one-word change-up could end up being a very big deal.

After all, abortion rights activists (including myself) have been vocal about the danger of ‘restoring Roe’, which left out protections for those who need them most. And just this week, more than 400 healthcare providers wrote a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris, urging them to move beyond Roe and to “talk about the future our patients deserve boldly and bravely.”

“We ask you to champion policy solutions that are not premised on returning us to the narrow protections Roe created. We deserve so much more. Our patients deserve so much more.”

I’ll be keeping an eye out in future speeches to see what kind of messaging and abortion policy Harris pushes for.

Quick hits:

• POLITICO has a run down of Walz’s policy positions;

• JD Vance is criticizing Walz as a “San Francisco-style liberal,” which I’m sure is going to blow up in his face;

• And The Guardian reports on a new attack from Vance on Walz’ military record.

Attacks on Walz

The anti-abortion attacks on Walz continue on, with conservatives blasting the vice presidential candidate for being a so-called extremist on the issue. I outlined some of this in yesterday’s issue, but the short version is that Republicans and right-wing media have honed in on Minnesota’s PRO Act—claiming that Walz’s support for the legislation proves that he supports abortion ‘up until birth,’ among other things.

The Washington Examiner called Harris/Walz “the radical pro-abortion ticket,” for example, citing the PRO Act and writing that Walz “allowed abortion at any stage.” And Fox News ran a headline that Walz “signed unlimited access to abortion.”

Democrats need to get better at hitting back against this line of attack, and soon. Because for years, they’ve been on the defensive—saying either that abortions later in pregnancy are rare or that Republicans are lying. While both of those things are true, they’re not smart or effective messages.

If you’re a regular reader, you know that I think Democrats should stop running from these attacks and instead lean in. For example, let’s take a look at what the PRO Act actually says: That everyone has a fundamental right to make decisions about their reproductive health care, including whether to continue a pregnancy or have an abortion. The law also prohibits local governments from interfering in that right. In truth, the law is short and simple—and that’s why Republicans hate it. They want the longest, most onerous restrictions on women’s bodies as possible.

So when Vance or Trump inevitably talks about Walz’s support for the PRO Act, the response can actually be very simple. All this law did was give voters what they want: an end to government interference in pregnancy. (Remember, 81% of voters want zero government regulation on abortion.)

Reminding voters that these laws aren’t about supporting or opposing abortion at any particular stage—but removing government interference in women’s bodies—is a powerful message. In fact, a poll commissioned by Planned Parenthood found that the messages resonating most with voters are those emphasizing that medical decisions should be made by patients and doctors, not politicians, and those highlighting how wholly unqualified politicians are to have a say.

Walz did the right thing in Minnesota; now we have an opportunity to explain to Americans why it was such an amazing move. For more on Walz and his history protecting abortion rights, read yesterday’s newsletter:

Tim Walz Tapped for VP

In the States

Let’s talk about what’s happening at Planned Parenthood in New York City. This week, the organization announced that its Manhattan clinic would no longer offer abortions after 20 weeks because they can’t afford “deep sedation” anesthesia for patients. Because that clinic was the only one to offer care after 20 weeks, this announcement means that Planned Parenthood won’t be offering abortions after that point at all in New York.

It’s a huge loss for patients, many of whom travel to New York because abortion is legal here through 24 weeks, and later in cases of dangerous or nonviable pregnancies. The New York Times reports that Planned Parenthood of Greater New York is also going to shut four clinics throughout the state, once again because of financial issues.

The staff I’ve spoken to in NYC are, in a word, devastated. They’re also angry: they see the decision as one that abandons the patients who need them the most. In fact, a group of 145 employees have sent a letter to PPGNY’s leadership, calling on the group “to find a way to continue to deliver the full spectrum of services to include abortion services up to 24 weeks and to offer deep sedation to our fellow NYers and beyond.”

“We call on you to enable us to continue to provide safe, humane, trauma-informed, and comprehensive care. We do not believe every option to avoid this failure of reproductive justice has been explored. As employees of PPGNY, we are, first and foremost, advocates for our patients, and deep sedation is something people want and need. We will continue to fight for safe and humane care, no matter what.”

You can read and support the full letter here, and I’ll have more in the coming days.

Some better news out of Illinois, where Gov. JB Pritzker signed multiple laws to make the state a “safe haven” for abortion providers and patients. The laws prohibit housing and employment discrimination for abortion patients; expand shield protections for patients and providers, protecting them from out-of-state investigations; and codify patients’ right to get emergency abortion care, just in case federal protections (aka EMTALA) is weakened.

Gov. Pritzker said, “We can’t wait around and be reactive when the latest attacks come. The pro-choice majority in this country need to be proactive.”

One of the reasons I’m so intent that Democrats go on the offense when it comes to attacks about abortion ‘up until birth,’ is that Republicans are ramping up their messaging—and using it as the ultimate distraction. Take what happened in this interview when CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about the state’s increased infant mortality rate—a rise that started when Texas banned abortion. Abbott immediately went on the attack about abortion ‘up until birth’ and continued on even after Tapper asked him where, exactly, this was happening.

Here’s the thing: Republicans think we’re going to be too afraid to take this issue head-on. They also know that so long as Democrats stay on the defensive, they can continue to use this bullshit talking point for as long as they want.

In the last bit of state news, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is asking Georgia families who’ve been negatively impacted by the state’s abortion ban to share their stories:

“We want to hear your stories, whether you’re a healthcare provider or someone who’s recently been treated in Georgia’s healthcare system, about how Georgia's six-week abortion ban has changed the care to which you have access [and] has impacted your health or has impacted your medical practice.”

If you’re in Georgia and you want to share your story, click here.

In the Nation

Study after study shows how important abortion medication and telehealth has been in staving off post-Roe disaster. (Don’t get me wrong: it’s already a disaster, but it would be a lot worse if not for the providers sending medication across state lines.) That’s why the anti-abortion movement is working hard to not just limit abortion pills and telemedicine—but to find a doctor to prosecute.

In an interview with NPR, president of Texas Right to Life John Seago says, “Mailing the abortion pill is a state jail felony according to our pro-life laws, but enforcement of those policies has been a real, real challenge.”

Essentially, they’re having a hard time finding a prosecutor willing to take on a legal case against abortion providers—because they know it would be a political disaster for them. Still, NPR reports that “his organization has been looking for the right individual or circumstance to challenge shield laws directly in court.”

This is part of the reason we need 1) the best protections possible for providers and 2) to stop anti-abortion efforts to track abortion medication. (More ideas on the latter soon.)

Make sure to read the whole piece from NPR though; it’s a good look into what it’s like for doctors and patients going through the tele-health abortion medication process.

Speaking of anti-abortion efforts against abortion medication: There’s a pressure campaign happening right now against Costco and Walmart. Anti-abortion groups, including the American Family Association, have sent a letter to the executives at the two companies, warning them against distributing abortion pills. The letter says that they have thousands of Costco customers ready to cancel their memberships if the company distributes the medication.

This is how they do it—pharmacy by pharmacy. If they can’t make the pills illegal, they’ll make them impossible to get. And if that sounds familiar, you know why:

The GOP’s Plan to Ban Birth Control (Part I)

Quick hits:

• KFF Health News does a deep dive on Project 2025;

• Ms. magazine on Latina voters;

• The New York Times on IUD insertion pain;

• And Raw Story with more on the new book by an architect of Project 2025.